One Piece High School - Summer Vacation
by jalexis4eva
Summary: After a long, hard year of School, packed full of action, its finally Summer time, with the gang hoping to finally get a chance to kick back and relax. But are things ever that simple? Sequel to One Piece High School, contains ZoRo, LuNa, and many other pairings.
1. The First Day of Summer

**Hello and Welcome to One Piece Summer Vacation, the sequel to One Piece High School. If you haven't already read One Piece High School, you probably should before you start this, some of the stuff in this chapter won't make sense otherwise.**

**For the rest of you, here's the sequel. Had a lot of fun writing this first chapter. I also finished it a lot earlier than I thought I would, which is always nice, both for me and for you. **

**So, enjoy!**

Robin's eyes lazily fluttered open. She tiredly fixed her eyes on the digital clock next to her. 9:05. For a second she just lay there, collecting her thoughts, when she suddenly sat up, remembering what day it was.

She smiled. it was the first day of summer.

######

After Robin woke up, she did the usual morning routine, before saying bye to Olivia, and heading out to the park, her usual Saturday morning spot. On the way there, Robin decided to take a slight detour, and got to Zoro's house. As if he had timed it to perfection, Zoro opened the front door just as Robin reached his house.

"Hey," he greeted with his usual smirk.

"Hey yourself," Robin replied, accepting Zoro's invitation for a good morning kiss. "Are you ready?"

Zoro nodded and offered her his hand, which she gladly took.

######

"What, again?"

Zeff nodded, "What do you mean, again? It's been a few months since I've given you a day off. And what idiot doesn't enjoy a day off anyway?"

"But, I love cooking-," Sanji protested, before he was cut off again.

"Why the hell should I care? A break would do you good. Besides the food you cook is a load of shit anyway."

A vein popped on Sanji's forehead, "What was that, old geezer?"

"You heard me. Now get out of here! A break will do you good!" Zeff and a couple of other chefs then proceeded to literally throw Sanji out of the restaurant, alerting a couple of customers.

When outside, Sanji dusted himself off, before sighing, sitting down on the side-walk next to the restaurant. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, and was about to call Hancock, before remembering that she was going on holiday with her family today, and would probably be on a flight to Hawaii about now.

"Shitty geezer," he muttered, taking one last look at the restaurant, before getting up, and heading to the park.

######

"Luffy! Wake up you lazy bastard!" Ace yelled from about 2 millimetres away. Luffy groaned and tried to use his pillow to cover his ears.

"Why Ace? It's the summer now!"

"So? Are you going to spend the next two months lying in bed?"

Luffy continued to whine, before Ace thumped him, silencing his complaints.

"Nami's here. And you know as well as I do how short her patience is..." Ace smirked, casually strolling out of the room.

Luffy's eyes widened, remembering the arrangements her made with Nami the night before. He practically jumped out of bed, rushed into the bathroom, took a quick shower, brushed his teeth, and threw on some fresh clothes, before he heard Nami's **heavy** footsteps, signalling to him that she had really lost her patience. Just about ready, he jumped onto his bed, adopting a reasonably casual pose as Nami knocked on his door.

"C-Come in!"

Nami opened the door, but was surprised to see Luffy completely ready. She opened her mouth, but didn't have anything to say. Luffy grinned.

"Oh, Nami, I didn't realise you were here."

######

And so slowly but surely everyone got up, and made their way to the park, as briefly discussed the night before. First to arrive were Zoro and Robin, who found a spot in the shade, under a large tree. Sanji then arrived, with Usopp and Chopper close behind. Franky and Brook arrived together, with Nami and Luffy the last to reach the park.

"What's with you this morning? I mean, I know you're usually always hungry, but it's like you skipped breakfast this morning!" Nami said to Luffy. The two had been late, because Luffy had insisted on stopping off near an ice cream van, obviously hungry because, like Nami said, he had indeed skipped breakfast.

"I thought you had work today Sanji?" Usopp asked. Sanji shook his head.

"The geezer gave me the day off."

"That's nice," Nami smiled, "It means we're all here together!"

Luffy grinned, "You know what we should do?" Everyone looked at him. "We should have a barbecue!"

This earned him a thump from Nami, "It's 11 in the morning! Besides, didn't you just eat?"

Luffy laughed, "You can never have enough food, especially when it's meat!"

"Actually," Sanji interrupted, "I'm with Luffy. Even if it is my day off, I'd definitely be up for cooking."

"Plus we could invite loads of other people," Franky said.

"And I could perform," Brook added.

"If they'd let us, we could do it here in the park tonight," Zoro suggested.

"Wait, tonight?" Luffy asked, "No, I meant right here, right now." But everyone ignored Luffy and continued planning.

"I'd better go shopping then," Sanji said, getting up and dusting himself off.

"Can I go with you Sanji?" Chopper asked. Sanji nodded, and Chopper followed him, the two setting off in the direction of the city centre.

"Hey Usopp, me and Brook might need some help setting up his equipment. You in?" Franky asked. Usopp nodded, and followed the two in the direction of Brook's house.

That left Luffy, Zoro, Nami and Robin. "We'll go around and invite people," Zoro said, gesturing to him and Robin, the two getting up. Nami nodded and turned to Luffy.

"We'll do the same."

Luffy nodded, getting up, a determined look on his face. "Ok, but first we'll get some food."

"Ok, first we'll... Wait, what?"

######

After a whole afternoon of work, the 9 met up at that same tree at around 7 pm. Franky and Usopp immediately got to work, setting up and testing Brook's equipment. Sanji and Chopper set up the barbecue, and began to start cooking the meat on the grill, with Sanji teaching a giddy Chopper about the best ways to grill certain kinds of meat. Luffy was sitting right next to the barbecue, wanting to be the first one to eat the meat once it was cooked. Zoro was also standing next to the barbecue, 'helping' Sanji (Basically, he just picked up burgers from the bag, and handed them to Sanji when he asked for them). Nami and Robin were idly chatting a little bit away, waiting for all the guests they had invited to arrive.

The first to arrive were Ace and Olivia, their hands intertwined as they approached the group. Oliva went to Nami and Robin, politely greeting the two girls. Ace grinned and went straight to an impatient Luffy.

"Isn't it polite to let your guests have the food first?" he teased. Luffy pouted and puffed his cheeks out.

"No way! I'm hungry!" Ace laughed, and heartily thumped Luffy on the back, hurting him a lot more than he intended to.

Then Kid and Bonney arrived, Luffy's eyes lighting up when he saw the pink haired girl.

"Hey Bonney," Luffy smirked, "You up for another contest?"

Bonney's eyes widened, and she frantically shook her head. "N-No way! N-Never again!"

"He's scarred her," Kid muttered to Zoro.

Zoro nodded, "He does have that effect on girls."

Hatchi, Keimi, Pappug and Kaya then arrived, Kaya instantly going to Usopp's side, with Usopp finally finishing up the setting up Brook's equipment. Hatchi hugged Nami and the two started talking, Nami eager to catch up with Hatchi and how his relationship with Keimi was going. Keimi and Pappug went to Luffy, Kid, Ace and Zoro, who, bored of waiting for Sanji to prepare the food, were now kicking a soccer ball around that they had found in the woods nearby. They just sat behind Luffy's goal and watched, cheering for Luffy.

Law and Monet then arrived. Monet and Robin began talking and really hit it off quickly, whilst Law and Hatchi, who had finished talking to Nami, joined the small soccer game, with Law teaming up with Zoro and Kid, and Hatchi with Luffy and Ace.

Gradually, the park began to fill up as more and more people came. Mr Shanks and Mr Mihawk came, both talking with Olivia a bit away from the teenagers. Marco, Thatch and few other police officers had also come, and had joined in the now 15 vs 15 soccer game taking place near the barbecue, which seemed to be constantly growing. Cooked meat began to pile up near the barbecue, with Luffy taking frequent snack breaks from the soccer match. The girls (Nami, Robin, Monet, Keimi, Bonney and Pappug for some reason) were sitting next to Luffy's goal, gossiping about the usual, who was dating who, who liked who etc. Usopp, Kaya and Chopper were hanging out near the barbecue, eager to assist Sanji, who hadn't really been expecting there to be so many guests.

######

"Goal!" Ace yelled, smacking to ball past Kid in goal, with Zoro sliding in and kicking the ball out in what seemed to be the knick of time.

"No way!" Zoro protested, "That didn't cross the line!"

Players of both teams began to protest, whilst Olivia, Mr Shanks, and Mr Mihawk laughed.

"Even the adults are acting like children," Olivia smiled.

Mr Shanks laughed, "Nah, give them a break. We've all been waiting for summer for a long time."

######

"Come on Sanji! Hurry up!" Luffy impatiently urged, practically jumping up and down next to the grill. After about an hour of playing soccer, everyone got bored, and most people were sitting down in groups, just chatting together. Luffy however, despite having more food than anyone else there, was still hungry, and when he saw Sanji whip out what he called his masterpieces, which were several racks of delicious looking ribs, you can imagine what effect this had on him.

"Calm down Luffy!", Sanji angrily told off, "Do you have any idea how long it takes to cook these?"

Luffy tilted his head slightly to the side, "Um... a minute?"

"It takes a long time. They'll need at least another half hour or so. So sit tight and quit bugging me!"

Luffy groaned and fell to the ground, his mouth genuinely watering, "But I'm huuuuuungry!"

Nami sighed and made her way to Luffy, handing him her half finished burger, "Here. I'm not going to finish it anyway."

Luffy smiled widely, kissing Nami quickly, before hungrily attacking the burger. Nami smiled, before returning to Robin, Monet, Keimi, Bonney and Pappug.

Meanwhile Zoro, Kid, Law, Ace and Marco were sitting together, Law and Kid currently engaged in an arm wrestle.

"You're pretty strong Kid," Law muttered through gritted teeth, the two seemingly stuck in a complete stalemate.

"I could say the same about you Law," Kid smirked. Eventually after another minute of trying, the two gave up, deciding to call it a draw. Zoro smirked, turning to the grill.

"Oy Love cook!" Zoro called, "You up for an arm wrestle?"

Sanji shook his head, as he tended to the various items on the grill, "Can't you see I'm busy Moss head? I don't have time for your childish games."

"Who're you calling a child Dart-Board?"

"Eh? Are you deaf or something? I'm talking to you dumbass!" Zoro got up and angrily made his way to the grill. From that point on, the two were engaged in a back and forth of insults, as per usual.

Suddenly, the feedback of a microphone was heard, and everyone, bar Sanji who was preoccupied with the meat, turned to the stage which Franky and Brook had been setting up. "Ladies and Gentlemen," Franky began, strolling out to the front of the stage, "May I have your attention please? Can everyone please put their hands together for the one and only SUUUUPPPPEEERRRER-STAR, SOUL KING!" Everyone loudly clapped and cheered as Brook made his way onto the stage, carrying his guitar of course.

"Yohohohoho everyone! Before I begin, I would like to thank everyone for coming to our summer barbecue tonight! This truly has been a wonderful way to start the summer!" Everyone cheered even louder at the mention of "start" and "summer".

"I would firstly like to thank my manager Franky for setting up the stage tonight. If I'm the soul, he's the flesh and bones of my performances. This man deserves a massive Cheer!" And he got one, as Brook pulled him onto the stage, the two sharing a manly hug.

"I also think our chef, Sanji, deserves a huge cheer too! He has put in so much work today, cooking some really amazing food." Sanji waved from the grill as everyone cheered and clapped for him.

Brook then began to play, everyone now up on their feet, practically bouncing up and down. Zoro and Luffy lifted up Chopper, who was screaming, partly in excitement, partly in fear. The girls were cheering louder than anyone, probably creating half the noise themselves. Ace and Olivia smiled at each other before they shared a kiss.

Luffy turned around and spotted someone lingering at the back of the crowd, the usual stoic expression on his face. "Smokey?"

Mr Smoker's eyes widened at the sight of Luffy looking at him, and tried to hide himself, but Luffy didn't take the hint, and leaving Chopper to Zoro, made his way over to Mr Smoker.

"Hey Smokey," he smiled, greeting Smoker. Next to Smoker was Tashigi, who was looking at Zoro in the distance.

"Straw hat," Smoker awkwardly greeted, clearly embarrassed at being caught by Luffy.

"What are you doing here?" Luffy asked cheerfully, "You always seem so serious and mean."

"Tashigi wanted to come. I dropped her off and was just about to leave." He turned around wanting to be away from Luffy as soon as he could.

Luffy shook his head, "Why? Come on, Let's go get some food! I'm starving!"

"Straw hat..." Smoker began, shocked at how friendly Luffy was being. Luffy grabbed Smoker's hand, and pulled him in the direction of Sanji and the grill, Tashigi making her way over to Zoro and Chopper.

"Oh, it's you," Zoro groaned when Tashigi stood next to him.

"That's kind of a rude greeting," Tashigi frowned.

"I'm not interested," Zoro simply said, not even looking at Tashigi.

Tashigi shook her head, "It's OK, I didn't realise you had a girlfriend before. I came here to apologise for before."

Zoro blinked in surprise turning to her. "Oh. OK." He then turned back to the stage.

Tashigi raised an eyebrow. "No 'thank you'?"

Zoro stared at her, "What do you mean?" Tashigi opened her mouth, unable find words. Zoro shrugged and turned away from her.

Tashigi stared the ground, fuming, "How rude! I can't believe I ever had a crush on this jerk..."

######

"And, we're done," Sanji smirked, having finally perfected his ribs. He handed a couple of plates to a waiting Luffy who gave one plate to Smoker. Zoro, Chopper, and Tashigi then walked up to the grill.

"Hey, Dart-board brow, You done yet?" Zoro asked, yawning at the end.

A vein popped on Sanji's forehead, "Yeah, but I'm not serving you Moss-head." He then turned to Tashigi. "The lady on the other hand..." he handed her a plate of ribs, Tashigi looking at him in confusion.

"Don't you remember me?"

Sanji shook his head.

"I worked at your restaurant for about a month?" Tashigi added. Sanji still looked confused. Tashigi sighed and gave up.

"You must have me confused with someone else," Sanji said, "There's no way I'd forget a lady working at that shitty restaurant full of jerk chefs, run by the shittiest of shitty geezers..." Sanji began to rant, still muttering under his breath even after Tashigi had stopped listening.

Tashigi sighed and handed the ribs to a hungry looking Zoro and Chopper. Nami and Robin then went to the grill, Robin frowning at the sight of Tashigi. She hadn't forgotten her. Robin immediately went to Zoro's side, taking his hand. Zoro looked at her in confusion, whilst Tashigi smiled at Robin.

"Don't worry. I'm over him."

Robin looked at her uncertainly, before nodded slowly. Nami picked up a couple of plates of ribs, taking them to rest of the girls. Luffy then slyly took another plate of ribs when Sanji wasn't looking, hurrying away with Mr Smoker to where Ace and Marco were, before Sanji noticed the missing ribs.

By now, Brook's set was pretty much complete, the last notes of his final song resonating through the night sky, which was quite dark now at 11 pm.

With the food nearly finished, nothing new being put on the grill, and Brook's set complete, people slowly began to leave the park, until only Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Ace, Nami, Robin and Olivia remained. Zoro and Sanji were focused on packing up the grill and taking it to Sanji's, where Zoro was going to spend the night. Ace and Luffy were setting off home too. That left Olivia, Nami and Robin.

"Hey Robin, is it OK if I spend the night?" Nami asked. Robin nodded, glancing at Olivia afterwards who smiled. She really liked Nami.

Just as they were about to set off, Zoro broke off from packing up the grill, ignored Sanji's cry of protest, and went to Robin.

"Hey, you weren't just gonna leave without saying goodnight?" he smirked, hugging Robin.

Robin giggled, "Of course not. I knew you wouldn't let me." Zoro grinned, and the two shared a small goodnight kiss.

**Hope you enjoyed it, really nervous with this being the first Chapter. If you have time, please leave a review (I really never change, do I? XD)**

**Thank you for reading, and hope you're looking forward to the rest of the story!**


	2. A trip to the Cinema

**Just a fun idea I had. This is my attempt at a funny chapter, really hope it gets a good response.**

Luffy's phone buzzed. It was Sunday evening, and after a day of playing Soccer with the local team, he had finally gotten home. He wearily picked the phone up and as soon as he had...

"Hey Luffy, did you hear about that new hollywood blockbuster that came out yesterday?" Nami's voice asked from the other side of the phone.

Luffy thought for a second, before answering, "You mean the one with that weird actor? What's he called again?"

"Buggy. Yeah, that one! We should go see it, don't you think?" Nami replied, real excitement in her voice.

"Yeah, maybe the others will want to come as well?"

Nami smiled, "It's been so long since we've all seen a movie together. We should do it!"

Luffy grinned, "I'll call the others now, how about tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow's perfect."

######

Nami smiled, clutching the two tickets that she and Robin had just bought. After calling Robin last night, she had suggested the two of them went earlier together, so that they could buy their tickets in no rush, and then have some 'girl time'. She glanced at her watch.

"That's good. We have 1 hour until the movie starts so we can do some shopping!"

Robin smiled, "For someone as tight with money as you are, you do love shopping"

Nami laughed, "Yeah, well, it's not like I ever buy anything full price!"

Robin laughed, "Those poor shop-keepers..."

"Still, I hope the others are doing ok."

Robin raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Nami blinked in surprise at her, before sighing, "That's right, you've never been to a movie with all the guys together yet, have you?"

Robin shook her head. Ever since she had moved here, she had only been to the cinema either with Nami or Zoro. "So?"

Nami sighed "Things don't usually work out..."

######

Zoro yawned as he strolled off the bus casually, looking around the packed town centre. He smirked, he hadn't been here in a while. He set off in the vague direction of the cinema, trying to avoid looking to his right where someone was watching him, following him closely. After walking for a bit, he stopped, finally losing patience.

"Why the hell are you walking with me Dartboard brow? I don't want people looking at us and thinking we're friends or something," Zoro grunted, trying to shift away from Sanji, who had been on the same bus as him and so had been with him ever since he had gotten off.

"As if I like hanging out with you! I have to walk with you because if I don't, you'll just end up getting lost!" Sanji angrily retorted. "Nami texted me this morning telling me to keep an eye on you. You always get lost, every freaking time!"

"What was that?"

"You heard me! Children are able to walk around here without getting lost! Hell, most animals have a better sense of direction than you do!"

"That's it! You wanna go shitty cook?!"

"Bring it, Moss-head!"

######

"Wow, that looks good," Luffy drooled, staring hungrily at the cakes through the window of a bakery. He turned to Usopp and Chopper, who Nami had assigned to 'look after' him. "Let's go in!"

Usopp shook his head, "Luffy, this exactly what Nami warned me about. We can't allow ourselves to get distracted like we usually do."

Luffy continued to stare hungrily at the cakes and groaned, "Come on Usopp! 5 minutes!"

Usopp once again shook his head, "That's what you said last time! We were in that damn candy shop for half an hour! Me and Chopper had to drag you out!"

"Please..." Luffy pleaded, looking to Chopper for support. Chopper tried to hold his nerve, but eventually sighed in defeat, unable to take Luffy's pleading expression.

"Let's go in Usopp. But let's keep track of the time better this time."

"Chopper!"

"If we don't let him go, he'll be whining the whole way! Do you really want that?"

Usopp sighed in defeat before opening the Bakery's front door, Luffy practically jumping in.

######

"Hey Brook, what do think about her?" Franky lightly smirked, gesturing towards an attractive blonde girl a little bit away from them, chatting casually with her friends, occasionally eyeing Franky and Brook out of the corner of her eyes. Brook smiled.

"Let me show you how its done," he said to Franky, before approaching the girl. He kneeled down, taking her hand and kissing it.

"Excuse me young lady..." Brook began, smirking at the way the blonde girl was smiling at him.

"...May I please see your panties?" he finished, in the most polite tone possible. Franky just stared at him, his jaw practically dropping to the ground.

"Um... pardon?" the girl choked in disbelief.

"May I please see your pantie... ow! ow!" Brook began, before Franky forcibly yanked him away by the ear.

"Oh no. We are not doing this again! Not like last time..." Franky muttered, remembering the last time him and Brook had went to the city centre and ended up in jail.

"Ow. Ow. I'm sorry. Ow. Ow. Please let go." Brook protested. Franky sighed, and stopped.

"Fine, but you have to promise that you're not going to ask any more girls..." Franky hadn't finished before Brook had found another attractive young girl, this time a brunette.

"Excuse me miss, but may I please see your pant-" and he didn't finish before Franky yanked him away again, this time by the afro.

######

Sanji and Zoro were walking through the farmer's market, when a fisherman drove up in his car to his stall, got out, and placed a large fish at the front, proudly presenting it as his catch of the day. Sanji stared at it in shock.

"Wow, that's a big fish," Sanji exclaimed, staring in shock at the large fish. The fisherman smiled, gesturing for Sanji to come and have a closer look.

"It's a fish," an unimpressed Zoro simply said, a hint of a scoff in his voice. Sanji glared at him, before turning back to the fish.

"I'm gonna go look at it, so wait here," Sanji ordered. Now it was Zoro's turn to glare at him.

"Don't tell me what to do!"

Sanji groaned, "Look, I don't give a shit what happens to you Moss-head. But if you go off on you own, you're going to get lost. So if you have any intelligence at all, you'll wait here, and then we can head to the cinema together, ok?"

Zoro didn't answer and just glared at the ground, before sitting down cross-legged on the side-walk, next to a lampost. Sanji smirked and left him, going to the stall. When Sanji was out of earshot, fully engrossed in the fish, Zoro smirked and got up.

"I'll show that idiot..."

######

"Wow, this is so good!" Chopper squealed, enjoying the chocolate brownie he was tucking into. They had been standing outside the bakery, eating cakes, for nearly half an hour now.

Luffy laughed, before stuffing 4 brownies into his mouth at once, "haha, aren't you guys glad we stopped off here?"

Usopp chuckled too, "I gotta hand it to you Luffy, the food was really good. But we really should get going now, we'll be late for the movie if we don't."

Luffy gulped down the last cake he bought, before nodding. "Ok, let's go."

The three were about to set off when a young man, around 20ish, walked up to them, handing them a flyer, gesturing to a small building at the other end of the street. "Come visit our new restaurant, it's an all you can eat Chinese Buffet!"

Luffy's eyes literally turned into hearts, "All you can eat... buffet...?"

Usopp gulped, "Wait, wait Luffy, we don't have time for-" That's as far as he got before Luffy literally zoomed off in the direction of the restaurant, leaving Usopp and Chopper behind. The two looked at each other before running after Luffy.

######

"Have you got no self control or something?" Franky angrily asked Brook.

Brook smiled and shook his head, "The heart wants what the heart wants."

"There's only one thing you want..." Franky angrily muttered to himself.

"Um... excuse me," someone said, tapping Brook's shoulder. Brook and Franky turned around to see a police officer standing there, a couple of girls standing a bit behind him, looking a bit nervous.

"Yes officer?" Brook innocently answered, although both he and Franky knew what this was about. They had been through this before afterall.

"A few young ladies have told me that you have been asking innapropriate, sexually suggestive questions. If it's OK, I would like to ask you a few questions."

Brook looked at Franky. Franky sighed. "Woah, is that a lion!" He yelled, pointing behind the officer. the officer turned around.

"GO!" Franky then shouted, him and Brook bolting in the opposite direction of the police officer. The police officer stared at the girls in disbelief, before sprinting after the two, desperately barking orders at his walkie talkie.

######

"That's a very generous offer, thank you very much," the fisherman smiled at Sanji.

Sanji grinned, "This is quite this fish. Trust me, it will be well worth the money."

"Do you want me to pack it up for you?" Sanji shook his head.

"Well, I'm going to go see a movie now, but I'll come and pick it up afterwards. You'll still be here in say... A couple of hours, right?" Sanji asked the fisherman.

The fisherman smiled and nodded, "I must say, it's nice to find such a knowledgable young man. Most kids your age are into video games, and all that garbage."

Sanji grinned, "Well, I am a chef. Thank you very much sir, and I'll see you later."

Sanji turned around still smiling, "Well, I'm done now, we should probably get go-" Sanji began before looking up at the spot he had left Zoro. He was gone. He frantically looked around. "That Idiot..." he growled, before sprinting off in the general direction of the cinema.

######

"Ok. I see what you mean," Robin simply said, a small smile on her face. Nami groaned and ran her hand through her hair. After browsing the nearby stores, she and Robin had made their way back to the cinema, and had just entered the right screen.

"Those idiots... Where the HELL ARE THEY?!" she growled. The film was starting in 5 minutes, and apart from Robin and Nami, none of their friends were there.

Suddenly a bright red, sweaty, Sanji sprinted in, frantically looking around the cinema. After spotting Nami and Robin, he jogged up to them. "Nami! Robin! Look, I'm so... so sorry. I took my eyes off him for one second..."

Nami stared at him in disbelief, "You lost Zoro? I gave you one job Sanji, one job!" she ranted, before Sanji turned around and sprinted towards the exit.

"Don't worry Nami, I'll definitely find him!" Nami groaned, burying her face in her hands.

"Um... should I be worried?" Robin nervously asked.

Nami looked up at her before shaking her head, "It's ok, he can't have gotten too far..."

Suddenly Nami's phone buzzed. It was Usopp. "Where are you three? The film is about to..."

"Luffy. All you can eat buffet. Can't pay. Have to work it off. We'll be here a while. " Usopp answered in a monotone, before hanging up.

That conversation had barely finished when Nami's phone buzzed again, this time it being Franky.

"Where are you two-?"

"Listen, don't be alarmed, but we may have a small problem."

"What?"

"Not even small, tiny really..."

"What is it!?"

There was a pause, before Franky continued. "We're in jail."

"What! Why?"

"Guess."

Nami buried her face in her hands before answering, "What, the same as last time?"

"I told him not to-"

"No, it's ok. No one else made it either."

"Listen, one of the criminals is giving me a weird look. I'm scared. This was my one phone call and I have to go now but can you bail us out? We really-" That's as far as he got before Nami hung up and collapsed into her seat, burying her face in her hands.

"You'd think putting the sensible ones with the idiots would work, but the idiots** still** find a way..."

Robin smiled gently, pulling Nami into a consoling hug, "We can enjoy it together? Besides, I'm sure the others will be fine... eventually."

######

"Good job Luffy," The owner of the restaurant smiled, seeing Luffy grinning as he dried the stack of plates Chopper had just handed to him, "Working with a smile, that's what I like to see!

Luffy grinned, raising his hand to his head in a salute, "Aye Sir!" When the owner had gone, Usopp turned to Luffy.

"I really hate you, you know that," Usopp muttered, placing a washed plate on a now dangerously tall stack. Chopper, seeing this, tiredly collected the stack of plates, handing them to Luffy.

Luffy laughed, "Yeah... But the food was sooooo GOOD! We should do this more often!" This earned him a whack from Usopp.

"Like hell we will! Next time you're on your own!"

Chopper groaned, tiredly collapsing, "Why do we have to help too? We didn't do anything!"

Usopps sighed, "Because if we don't, he'll be stuck here for hours."

Luffy laughed, throwing his arms around the two, "You guys are good friends, you know that!" Usopp and Chopper just glared at him.

######

Sanji sprinted towards the fisherman's stall, the fisherman looking surprised to see him back so soon. "Yeah, change of plans, I'm not seeing the movie, so I can pick the fish up now," he said, pulling out the money from his pocket.

"Oh, I'm sorry that you couldn't see it," the fisherman answered, handing over the fish.

"Yeah, easy come, easy go. Actually, maybe you could help me. Have you seen a guy looking kind of lost around here? He's about my height, green moss-like hair. Really scary looking. Permanent scowl?"

"That guy who you were with before? Sanji nodded. "No sorry. Is he like your pet or something?" the fisherman joked.

Sanji groaned, "No, but he sure is like one. Requires constant attention and looking after..."

He then ran off, the large fish slung over his shoulder, leaving a perplexed looking fisherman behind.

"I swear I'm gonna kick the shit outta you when I find you..." Sanji muttered to himself.

######

"Hey Usopp, look! It's Sanji!" Chopper smiled, jumping up and down. He and Usopp had to go out of the restaurant to dump all the waste food into the nearby dumpster, and had spotted Sanji running down the street.

"Sanji! SANJI!" Usopp shouted at the top of his voice, waving madly. Sanji stopped and turned around, looking around the street, before at last spotting Usopp outside the restaurant.

"What are you two doing here? You should be at the movie."

"Yeah well... Wait, why do you have a fish?" Usopp asked, noticing the giant fish slung over Sanji's shoulder.

Sanji opened his mouth to answer, before Usopp shook his head.

"Doesn't matter. Look, we've been forced to work here to work off Luffy's debt," Usopp began, Sanji nodding in understanding. This had happened before. "But do you have any money? If we can pay it off, we won't have to work here and we can finally leave."

Sanji shook his head, "Sorry, spent it all on this fish."

Usopp and Chopper both groaned in disappointment. "Man, Who knows how long we'll be stuck here!"

Sanji frowned,"Hey, you guys think you have problems? I lost Moss-head."

Usopp and Chopper both stared at him for a second, thinking he was joking. When they realised he was serious, they burst out laughing.

"How did you manage that? Did you take your eyes off him or something?" Usopp laughed.

"Actually... yeah."

Usopp and Chopper looked at each other, before falling to the ground, rolling around in laughter. A vein popped on Sanji's head.

BANG! BANG!

"Ow. Be're bewwy sowwy," Usopp and Chopper muttered in unison, having both been kicked by Sanji.

"Have fun," he grunted, before running off again.

######

"Well?" Brook asked in anticipation when Franky returned. Franky glared at him, before whacking him in the head.

"What do you think?! It's Nami! You really are a complete tool, you know that!"

"Harsh," Brook frowned.

"What do you mean harsh!? It's your fault we're stuck here! You are such a-"

"Oi, you two," the prisoner in the adjacent cell said. "Shut up." He was about the same height as Brook, but width-wise was Brook and Franky put together. He was Bald, with a large scar running down his face. He was glaring straight at the two.

Franky and Brook gulped, clamping each other's mouth shut.

######

Zoro frowned, looking around. The street was completely empty apart from him. The signs on the buildings around him were written in some unfamiliar Eastern European language. Looking inside one of the shops, he saw an old lady sitting there, glaring at him.

He sighed, scratching his head. "Damn... I'm lost."

**Thanks for reading, please leave a review and tell me what you think. Sorry I've only updated once this week, had a really busy week. Should be back to 2 chapters a week next week.**


	3. Chimney and Gonbe

**First of all, I am so sorry. I haven't updated this since November and to whoever is reading this, I'm really sorry. I've just been snowed under with work in general, then the holidays came, and I always put this off. I haven't had that much free time, and I just haven't had time to write. Hopefully I'm back now, and I'll be able to write reasonably regularly, but its difficult, it really is. **

**To any loyal readers who are still here, I am so sorry, and I hope that there won't be such a big delay before the next chapter.**

"Oy, get out of my way Idiot!"

"Your way? You just walked in front of me!"

"Yeah, because you were hogging the aisle!" Zoro argued, the whole supermarket staring at him, swivelling his trolley so it was facing Sanji.

"Hogging? Just because your big ego can't fit through a normal gap, doesn't mean you have to blame me!" Sanji angrily replied, ramming his trolley into Zoro's.

"Enough!" Robin called from a few metres ahead of the two, Chopper by her side.

"It's hopeless Robin..." Chopper sighed, "Those two will never change."

Robin turned around, and walked towards the two, still arguing. "Can you two please stop? Everyone's staring. Plus, if you guys keep having this exact same argument on every aisle, we're never going to finish shopping!"

Sanji straightened up, "Of course Robin!"

Zoro laughed, "You're such a tool. Even finally getting a girlfriend hasn't changed you."

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"You're still the dumb love cook you've always been."

"Enough!" Robin calmly, but firmly said. "Lets split into two groups, we're getting nowhere." She turned to Chopper. "You and Sanji take half the list. Me and Zoro will take the other half." Chopper nodded.

######

"Are you sure it was wise to put Zoro and Sanji together?" Ace asked Nami.

Nami shook her head. "Probably not, but it seemed easier on Robin to have those two carry everything. Plus, its not like we could send Luffy..."

Ace laughed,"Yeah, well, typical Luffy..." Nami glared at him.

"Its not funny! We're going tomorrow and he hasn't even begun packing!"

Ace grinned, "You'd better get a move-on then."

Nami groaned. "Why aren't you helping anyway?"

Ace grinned, opening the front door, "Work!"

Nami sighed, before making her way upstairs, already hearing the sounds of Luffy frantically routing through his closet.

######

"Yo Franky!" Usopp called, entering Franky's garage, where Franky and his brother Iceburg worked. The door leading into Franky's house opened, but instead of Franky, a little girl with blond hair ran out, followed by a blue rabbit. She smiled brightly at Usopp.

"Oy Chimney! Get back here!" Franky's voice shouted from inside the house. He rushed through the door into the garage. "Oh, hey Usopp. Sorry, I'm not working today, I've got to babysit old lady Kokoro's granddaughter." Usopp stared at him.

"Nothing you just said makes any sense to me."

"The old lady's Tom's secretary. She had some errands to run today, so she dumped her granddaughter on him. And he dumped her on Iceburg. And he dumped her on me. So here we are."

"Come on," Chimney moaned, tugging on Franky's arm, "You said me and Gonbe were going to have fun!"

Franky sighed, turning to Usopp, "I don't know how much more I can take of this. She must have had way too much sugar today or something." Chimney pouted at that.

"Come on! Let's go!"

"Go where?" Usopp asked.

Chimney turned to Usopp, smiling widely, "The fair!"

######

Nami smiled, satisfied. It had taken a couple of hours of work, but she and Luffy were finally finished packing his stuff. You see, tomorrow, Ace and Garp were taking Luffy and everyone on holiday, to a surprise destination. Nami, being organised, had finished packing a couple of days ago, but Luffy being Luffy had put off packing to the day before, and probably would have put it off further if Nami hadn't come.

Luffy laughed, flopping onto the ground, lying on his back. "Are we done?"

Nami smiled, "Nearly. I just realised there's one thing we're missing. I'll call Robin now..."

Luffy shook his head. "Nah, we should just go! We've got nothing else to do. Besides, I'm kind of hungry..."

Nami's eyes lit up, suddenly remembering something, "Oh yeah, I heard there's a fair on today too! Brook's meant to be performing there!"

Luffy jumped up, "Let's go!"

######

"We should wait for Robin and Moss-head outside," Sanji said, carting the trolley towards the supermarket exit, Chopper ticking off the last item on their list.

As soon as they were out of the building, the sound of happy music filled the air. "Whats that?" Chopper asked, turning to Sanji. Sanji shrugged, when a teenage girl approached the two.

"It's Captain Buggy's summer fair!" She widely smiled, handing a flyer to Chopper.

"Buggy? As in the actor Buggy?" Sanji blinked.

She nodded. "Hurry if you want to catch him." Sanji turned to Chopper.

"Well? You up for it?"

Chopper nodded enthusiastically, "I'm sure they'll have loads of cotton candy there!"

######

"Summer fair huh?" Zoro said, the same teenage girl approaching Robin and Zoro 10 minutes later when they left the supermarket.

"Never mind that," Robin said to Zoro, "We should find Sanji and Chopper."

"Are you two with the blonde guy and his friend by any chance?" the girl asked, making the connection. Robin nodded. "Those two will be at the fair. I met them earlier today."

Zoro sighed, "Figures, the dumb cook got distracted."

Robin nodded, "We should go there, collect the two, and then head to Luffy's."

######

"Wow!" Chimney laughed, running away from Franky and Usopp's and into the fair, Gonbe close behind her.

"Wait, Chimney, come back!" Franky called, jogging after her, Usopp close behind. When they caught up to her, Franky gratefully put his hand on her shoulder, stopping her from hurrying off again.

"Don't do that!" Usopp scolded, gesturing to the large crowd of people around them, "If we lose you in a place like this, we won't be able to find you."

Both Chimney and Gonbe pouted, but nodded. Franky whispered, so they couldn't hear, "What the hell is with that rabbit? It's just like a person. And its blue..."

Usopp shook his head, "God knows."

"Ooh, We want to go on the teacup ride!" Chimney shouted, her mini sulk over. Franky turned to Usopp.

"Well? You heard her."

"Me? You're the one meant to be babysitting her."

"Oh come on..."

Usopp shook his head. Franky sighed, before taking Chimney's hand and joining the back of the queue.

######

"Would you like a candy apple?" the vendor smiled at Chopper.

Chopper's eyes lit up, "What's that? Is it really sweet?"

"Nothing sweeter!"

"Give me 5 please!"

"Maybe you should go easy on the sugar..." Sanji suggested.

Chopper shook his head, "No way!" The man handed the apples to Chopper, who licked his lips, before attacking one. Sanji looked nervously at him.

"Fine... but don't overdo it... We've got a big day tomorrow..."

"Hey Sanji! Chopper!" the two turned around to see Usopp and Franky approaching them with a little girl, and a ... blue rabbit?

"Um... guys?" Sanji said, eyeing the rabbit. "What's with that thing?"

Chimney glared at him, "Hey! He's not a thing, he's Gonbe." Usopp shook his head.

"We don't know either," Usopp answered. "This is Chimney though. She's the granddaughter of Tom's secretary, and long story short, we're looking after her. Why are you guys here."

"We were doing some shopping for Nami, and we heard about this."

######

"You sir! Would you like to test your aim, and win a prize for your lady?" Zoro blinked at the man at the stall.

"Me?"

"Yes you! I'm sure your lady would be very impressed if you win a prize for her!"

"Oh no, I'm fine really..." Robin began before she was cut off by Zoro.

"Sure. I think I can handle it."

The man smiled, "Good. You have three goes to knock down three lots of 3 bottles." He gestured to the bottle stacks, organised in pyramids with two bottles at the base and one at the top.

"Ok," Zoro smirked, clearly up for this.

"That will be $1." Zoro traded the money for three balls. He stared at the bottles, really concentrating. He threw the first ball right on target, knocking over all three bottles. Second throw - same result.

Zoro held his breath, concentrating. He threw the ball, it hitting the bottom left bottle, the top bottle toppling down as well. The third bottle wobbled a bit before finally falling over. The man looked surprised, but handed over a large stuffed bunny to Zoro who grinned, presenting it to Robin.

Robin didn't look too enthusiastic, but took it anyway.

######

"Hey guys!" Luffy shouted, waving at Zoro and Robin. The two looked around before spotting him. "I didn't know you guys were here too!"

"Shouldn't you two be shopping?" Nami asked.

Zoro waved the bags in his hand. "All done."

"That can't be everything on the list. And where are Sanji and Chopper?"

"We split the list, those two will have the other half. They're somewhere here too, we've been looking for them," Robin explained.

Nami nodded, "And why do you have that?" she said, pointing to the large stuffed Bunny tucked under Robin's arm.

"I won it for her," Zoro proudly smirked.

"Where?" Luffy eagerly asked. Zoro pointed to the stall. "Let's go!" he grabbed Nami's arm and ran towards the stall.

######

"And that's a new record!" the stall manager proudly shouted, lifting Sanji's arm high up in the air. The people around the High Striker game clapped and cheered. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this man is truly the strongest man here!"

Sanji smirked, almost embarrassed by the compliments.

"You're so cool Sanji!" Chopper cheered. Franky and Usopp nodded in agreement, both impressed.

"Chopper, Franky, Usopp," Robin said from behind them, her and Zoro finally finding them.

"Robin," Chopper smiled, "We finished shopping," he proudly said.

"What's going on here?" Zoro asked, not liking how everyone was cheering for Sanji.

"He got the record in this game. Basically, you have to hit that point with the hammer and try to get the meter to rise as high as possible. Sanji got the highest ever score!" Chopper explained.

Zoro smirked, and walked up to the game. "Wait," Robin called after him.

Zoro shook his head, "There's no way I'm letting love-cook get the record for being the strongest man. No way."

Sanji glared at Zoro as he approached. "What are you doing here moss-head?"

"I'm going to break your record," Zoro cockily answered.

The stall manager raised his eyebrow. "It appears that Sanji has a challenger!" he loudly announced. The crowd started booing, clearly not liking Zoro's attitude.

Zoro ignored them, lifting the hammer high, and thumping the board fiercely. The meter kept rising. Sanji looked nervously on. The meter rose to the exact same level as it did for Sanji. The announcer looked shocked.

"Well... it appears that the record is now shared..." he quietly announced.

"What?!" both Zoro and Sanji yelled in protest.

"That thing must be wrong!" Sanji growled.

"Let's go again!" Zoro grunted.

Robin sighed, turning to Chopper, "We're going to be here a while."

Chopper nodded, his eyes fixed on the game and Zoro and Sanji. He was definitely impressed.

######

"Hey guys!" Luffy laughed, approaching the High Striker game, where Robin, Usopp, Franky, and Chopper were waiting, with Zoro and Sanji still playing the game, neither able to beat the other.

"Why are you guys just standing here?" Nami asked. Robin pointed at the game. Nami sighed. "Oh. Those two."

Luffy looked at Usopp and Franky "I thought you two were working at the garage today?"

Franky shook his head, "I was stuck babysitting Chimney and Gonbe."

"Who're they?"

"What do you mean who are they? They're standing right here-" Franky answered, gesturing to the spot next to him. There was no one there. "Oh crap! Where did they go?! Usopp!"

"Don't look at me! I thought you were keeping an eye on them!"

"Yeah, but you were meant to be helping too!"

"Don't pin this on me!"

Nami punched them both. "Calm down. How long have you guys been waiting here?"

"I dunno. half an hour maybe?" Franky answered.

"They were here when me and Zoro got here as well," Robin interrupted, "That was about 15 minutes ago."

Nami nodded, "They can't have gotten too far then."

"We should probably split up and search the grounds," Usopp suggested. Everyone nodded and got up, setting off in different directions. Well, nearly everyone...

Chopper turned around, giddy with excitement "Hey guys did you see that?! Sanji just..." He stopped. No one was there. "Hey guys? Guys! GUYS!"

######

"It was a stupid game anyway," Zoro grumbled. After taking turns continuously for half and hour, the stall manager had had enough and told them to settle for a draw.

Sanji nodded, "There's no way you're as strong as me."

"You're such a dumb blonde, you know that?"

"Idiot. Dumb blonde jokes are only about blonde girls, not blonde guys.

"Guys!" Chopper shouted, running towards the two, practically throwing himself into them.

"Ch-Chopper?" Zoro gasped in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Sanji asked, alarmed.

Chopper looked up at the two, before bursting into tears. "The others left me!"

Zoro and Sanji blinked and looked at each other.

"That doesn't sound like them..." Sanji began.

Zoro shook his head, "It was probably Luffy or something. Don't worry, we're probably gonna head home now anyway and rest up for tomorrow." Chopper nodded. The three began to walk through the fairground, Sanji buying Chopper another candy apple to help cheer him up. Suddenly, Gonbe appeared in front of them.

"What the hell is that?!" Zoro jumped. Sanji rolled his eyes.

"Gonbe, Chimney's pet."

"Who's Chimney?"

Chopper blinked, "You didn't notice them before?" Zoro shook his head.

Sanji laughed. "Idiot, Franky's babysitting a little girl called Chimney and her pet, Gonbe. Here's Gonbe..." he trailed off.

"So where's Chimney?" Chopper finished, seeing what Sanji was getting at.

Gonbe suddenly grunted, staring at the three. He turned around and set off, darting forward. When Sanji, Zoro and Chopper didn't follow, he stopped and turned around.

"Um guys..." Chopper said, "I think he wants us to follow him."

Zoro just stared at Chopper, "How could you know that?"

Sanji shook his head, "Actually... I think he's right. Gonbe is looking straight at us."

"Let's go!" Chopper said, running after Gonbe, Sanji following him too. Zoro just stared after the two for a second, before running after them.

"So we're seriously going to follow a rabbit?!"

######

Franky sighed, flopping down on a bench outside the fairground. Usopp joined him.

"No luck?"

Franky shook his head. Nami and Robin then came out of the fair, looking around before spotting the two.

"Guys, did you-?" Nami asked, but Usopp shook his head.

"Nothing."

Luffy then ran out of the fair, spotting the other four quickly. "Did you guys-?"

"NO!" Nami shouted, losing her temper. Luffy stepped back, looking offended. Nami sighed, "Sorry babe, I shouldn't have got angry with you."

Luffy nodded, pulling Nami into a hug.

"We should go to the police," Robin suggested, "They'll be able to search more thoroughly than we have. Plus if... something happened, then..." Robin trailed off.

Franky nodded, and took out his phone.

######

"Brook?" Chopper, Sanji and Zoro all exclaimed, finally catching up to Gonbe, who had taken them to tent right at the edge of the fairground. There, Brook was sitting outside, Chimney opposite him, showing her how to play the guitar.

He smiled at the three, "Nice to see you guys! I'm just teaching the little lady here how to play a few notes. She's a natural."

Sanji collapsed, "So there I was fearing the worst..."

"It was that stupid Rabbit's fault, looking so panicked," Zoro grumbled, sitting down next to Sanji.

Chopper sat down in front of the two, "Well, it was us who assumed something bad happened. Plus, the important thing is Chimney is safe."

Sanji sighed, "I guess so... but this now seems like a huge waste of time."

Gonbe ran to Chimney's side. "Gonbe!" Chimney smiled, "where have you been? Listen to what I learned to play!" She then looked at Brook who handed her his guitar.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Zoro asked Brook.

"I've been performing today. I was just about to leave when I saw Chimney here running around. I didn't think it was safe for a little girl to be alone, so I took her aside and told the fair manager. He's been going around asking people about her. How do you guys know Chimney?"

"Franky was meant to be babysitting her," Sanji explained, before getting angry. "He did a pretty shitty job! Here we are, running around to find her, when the others are nowhere to be seen!"

######

"Chimney!" Franky shouted, running to her side."Thank God you're OK." He then turned to Zoro, Sanji, Brook and Chopper, who had just left the fair with Chimney. "Thank you guys so much!"

"How did you find her?!" Nami demanded.

"What, you were looking for her?" Sanji said, surprised.

"You did a pretty bad job then..." Zoro quietly commented, Chopper laughing at that. Unfortunately for him, Nami overheard him, glaring at him.

"We found Gonbe, and he led her to us," Sanji explained.

"Anyway, why did you guys abandon Chopper?! Poor guy was so worried," Zoro angrily demanded.

Luffy blinked, "Chopper?" He looked around, and then at Chopper who was between Zoro and Sanji. "Woah, where did you go?"

Robin rubbed her forehead, "How could we not notice Chopper was missing..."

Nami sighed, "We were so caught up in looking for Chimney that we lost someone else."

Usopp place a hand on Chopper's shoulders, "Sorry little guy. Our bad."

Chopper glared at Luffy, Nami, Robin and Usopp, before sighing. "It's OK. Besides, I had a lot of fun today!"

Zoro smirked, whispering to Chopper, "You have a lot to learn. When Nami and Robin make a mistake, you have to hold it over them. Never let them forget it." Again, Nami overheard this, and this time thumped him on the head. Robin also went to his side, and hit him on the arm.

"So..." Brook began, "Alls well that ends well, right?"

Nami nodded, "Yeah. It's getting pretty late, we should probably head home."

"What about the police?" Robin said. Nami sighed.

"Oh yeah, we need to tell them that we found Chimney."

Brook shook his head, "Look over there." Nami looked at the fair entrance where the fair manager was talking to a police officer and pointing out Chimney and Franky.

"Oh. That's good," Nami said.

Luffy grinned. "I'm so pumped for tomorrow!"

"Anyone want to go back to mine?" Zoro asked. Luffy, Sanji, Usopp, and Chopper all nodded.

Nami shook her head, "No, we have an early morning tomorrow. Just get some rest, we can't afford to be late tomorrow morning."

"Stop treating us like kids," Zoro retorted, "We can handle ourselves."

"Don't worry Nami, We'll be fine," Sanji smiled.

Nami sighed in defeat, "Fine, but if you guys are late tomorrow, We're leaving without you!"

**Thank you for reading, its been so long since I've updated this, so it would be amazing if I could get some positive feedback.**


	4. The Airport

**I had planned to put this up last night, but I was just so shattered that I really couldn't. Sorry about that, but better late then never, right? This chapter will either go down really well or really badly. I hope you enjoy it, I certainly enjoyed writing it.**

BEEP! BEEP!

Robin's eyes fluttered open at the sound of her alarm. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table. 04:15. She blinked, surprised. It took her a couple of seconds to finally remember why she had set her alarm so early.

She sighed, allowing herself to lie in bed for a further five minutes, before getting out of bed. The taxi would probably be at her house soon, so unfortunately, she needed to get a move on.

Robin yawned as she stepped out of her room, going through the usual morning routine, only allowing herself a shorter shower than usual. By the time she had gotten dressed, and got all her luggage in order, it was 4:30. She tried to quietly make her way down the stairs, anxious to not wake up her mother, but was surprised to see Olivia actually waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, rubbing her eyes.

"Morning honey," Oliva warmly greeted, stifling a small yawn afterwards. Robin weakly smiled, feeling a bit guilty.

"Mom? You didn't have to wake up early for me."

"Of course I did. My only daughter is going on holiday without me for the first time. I had to see you off."

Robin smiled, "Mom..."

Olivia pulled Robin into a hug. "Have fun, OK?"

Robin giggled, "Of course." The doorbell then rung and Robin slowly pulled away from her mother. "That will be Nami with the taxi." Olivia nodded as Robin made her way to the door.

"And no drinking!" Olivia called after Robin as she opened and walked out the door. Robin rolled her eyes and waved goodbye, closing the door.

######

Nami yawned as Robin opened the taxi door and sat down in the back seat, next to her. Robin smiled sympathetically. "Tired?"

Nami nodded, "Oh yeah. Next time, we really need to book a later flight. 6:30 is way waaaay too early to get ready for."

"Where now?" the taxi driver slightly impatiently asked from the front.

"The airport please," Nami answered. Robin frowned at this.

"What about the others?"

Nami shrugged, "I tried calling them last night to ask them if they wanted to share a taxi, but no one was picking up the phone. Oh well, I'm sure they're probably on their way to the airport now too."

######

Meanwhile...

Zoro's father, Koshiro, made his way down the stairs into the living room. Last night, Zoro and the others had gone out and only returned in the early hours of the morning and so with this in mind, it seemed like a good idea to check on them, to make sure they were still in one piece.

Sure enough, the five were all in the living room, sleeping soundly, still fully dressed in last night's clothes. Usopp and Chopper were sleeping on opposite ends of a sofa, both snoring softly. Zoro and Sanji were sleeping on the other sofa, with Sanji rolled on top of Zoro, which did seem slightly disturbing, but Koshiro saw the funny side of it, quietly taking a picture of them with his phone. Luffy was sprawled across the floor, drooling with his mouth wide open, muttering something about meat. Koshiro checked the time on his phone.

"Hmm. Isn't Zoro going today? I hope he isn't too tired out. I wonder when his flight is...?"

Satisfied that Zoro and the others were OK, Koshiro went back upstairs, returning to bed.

######

**5:15 a.m.**

"Hey! Nami! Robin!"

Nami and Robin looked around at the sound of their names, and saw Garp, Ace, Franky and Brook at the back of the check-in queue. Brook was waving at them.

They joined them at the back of the queue. Ace looked around, his tired eyes suddenly becoming alert, "Where's Luffy? And the others? We thought they'd be with you."

Nami shrugged. Garp frowned, "Oh boy. I really don't trust those idiots on their own."

Franky shook his head dismissively, "Don't worry, they'll be fine. Although they are leaving it quite late..."

"Maybe we should call them, just to make sure they're OK," Robin suggested.

######

Luffy's phone vibrated in his pocket, causing him to jolt up.

"Who? What? Whe-?" he blurted out, before feeling the vibrating again. Zoro's eyes twitched before he slowly yawned loudly. He turned grumpily to Luffy.

"What's with you Lu-," he began, before Sanji interrupted him.

"Hancock..." Sanji dreamily muttered in his sleep, his lips posed for a kiss. He slowly leaned into Zoro's face, a perverted smile on his face. "I love you... Hancock..."

"What are you-" Zoro began, his eyes widening. Sanji eyes suddenly opened at the sound of Zoro's voice and he stopped. For a second the two were frozen, staring at each other, their eyes wide, their lips millimetres away from each other. Suddenly, Sanji jolted up, pulling away from Zoro.

"What the- Why the hell are you trying to kiss me you freak?!"

"Me? You're the one that was on top of me, shoving your ugly mug in my face."

Sanji sat up on the edge of the sofa, "who are you calling ugly, Moss-head?"

Suddenly a vein popped on Usopp's head. "Would you two... SHUT UP!" he shouted, punching what he thought was the sofa, but was actually Chopper's stomach.

"OW!" Chopper yelped. "Usopp! You hit me!"

Luffy blinked, taking in the carnage around him, before reaching into his pocket and looking at the still vibrating phone. However before he answered the call, he glanced at the time in the top left corner.

**05:20**

"Um guys..."

Everyone stopped their arguments and turned to face him. He showed them his phone.

"I think we overslept."

After a moment of silence, Sanji was the first to react. "What the... Moss-head! What did you do?!" Zoro glared at him.

"Me? How is this my fault?!"

"You were the one who was meant to set the alarm, its your house!"

"No way, you said you'd do it!"

"Why didn't Zoro's dad wake us up?" Chopper wondered aloud.

Zoro ponderered this before sheepishly scratching his head, "I don't think I told him what time our flight was..."

Usopp stood up, clapping his hands to get the others to stop talking, "Guys! We're just wasting time now by arguing. We really need to get going now!"

Luffy nodded, "Usopp's right." Everyone slowly nodded in agreement and calmed down. Sanji was the first to get up.

"I'll go make breakfast," he offered, leaving the room.

"Everyone brought their bags here last night, right?" Zoro asked, getting up too. Everyone nodded. "I'll move them all by the door, so we can get out quickly when we're ready."

"I'll call a taxi," Usopp volunteered, reaching for Zoro's home phone.

"Get two," Zoro said, "There won't be enough space for all five of us in just one."

"Let's go get ready Chopper," Luffy said, getting up and energetically rushing upstairs. Chopper nodded, following after him.

######

"He didn't answer," Nami frowned, "I'm getting worried." Everyone exchanged nervous glances. There was an awkward silence for a couple of seconds before Robin finally spoke.

"I'll try calling Zoro." She took her phone out, found the number, and held the phone up. Everyone was staring nervously at her. After a few tense seconds, Zoro finally picked up.

"Hello?"

"Zoro?"

"Robin! Look... I know we're a little behind, but we'll be there."

"What happened?"

"We didn't set an alarm and so we overslept a little. We were actually really lucky Luffy woke up when he did. We'll be there soon."

Robin's eyes widened, "You've just gotten up..."

"Um yeah... But don't worry, we'll definitely make it."

"OK... Good luck," Robin hung up and exhaled slowly. Everyone stared expectantly at her.

"Well?" Franky asked. Robin sighed.

"They overslept."

######

**5:40 a.m.**

"What's going on here?" Koshiro chuckled, casually entering the kitchen where Luffy, Zoro, Chopper, Usopp and Sanji were literally gorging down their breakfast. Food was flying everywhere.

"We overslept and now we're going to miss our flight," Zoro angrily explained between bites. Koshiro frowned, now feeling guilty for not waking them up earlier.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I had no idea. Do you boys need a lift?"

Sanji shook his head, "It's fine, we've called taxis."

Usopp then got up, "I'm going for a quick shower, anyone else still need to go?"

Sanji nodded, "Yeah, I was busy making breakfast. Don't take too long, I'll be coming up soon."

"You can use my shower if you'd like," Koshiro suggested.

"Um.. yeah, that would be great," Sanji said. "Thanks a lot."

The doorbell then rang. Sanji bolted upstairs, and Zoro got up, "Oy Luffy, come help me load the bags into the cabs." Luffy nodded and jumped up, running past Zoro and beating him to the front door, still full of energy as usual.

######

**6:00 a.m.**

"The airport? OK." the taxi driver nodding, fiddling with his phone a bit, before putting his hands on the wheel.

"All set?" Zoro asked from the front seat, turning back to face Luffy and Chopper. Sanji and Usopp by now had finished their showers and were in the other cab. "Great. Let's go," he said to the driver.

Luffy grinned, throwing his hands in the air "I'm super pumped! I've never been to Sabaody before! Ace says its really beautiful."

"Save the celebrations for when we're on the plane," Zoro grumbled.

"Lighten up," Luffy laughed.

"Yeah, lighten up!" Chopper mimicked.

Zoro crossed his arms, and cast his mind back to the previous night. "Now that I think about it... I distinctly remember someone volunteering to set an alarm on his phone last night..." Zoro muttered to himself.

######

**Last Night, 1:30 a.m.**

"Wow, Really?" Chopper gasped, turning to Luffy.

"You bet!" Luffy laughed. After originally going back to Zoro's house after leaving the fair, Kid texted Luffy to invite him to a party at his house. It was pretty small, with Kid, Law, Bonney and Monet being the only people who they actually knew, and the other ten or so people probably from Kid's old school. The guys stayed at Kid's house for a couple of hours and left at around midnight. After wasting some time at the park, they had all decided to head back to Zoro's, visiting everyone's houses on the way to pick up their luggage for the next morning. They were currently camped out in Zoro's living room where they were planning to spend the night.

Sanji looked at his watch, blinking in surprise. "Wow, it's later than I thought... We should get to bed, we've got a big day tomorrow... well today technically."

Zoro nodded, "We should probably set an alarm. We're not going to wake up early enough otherwise."

Luffy's hand enthusiastically shot up, "I'll do that!"

######

"This..." Zoro whispered, literally trembling in anger.

"What was that Zoro?" Luffy cheerfully asked, putting his hand on the front seat's shoulder, Zoro still trembling.

"**This IS ALL YOUR FAULT!**" he roared, turning around to face Luffy. He grabbed the front of Luffy's shirt, shaking him violently. "YOU were meant to set the alarm last night!" The taxi driver looked alarmed, but didn't want to stop the car and risk angering Zoro more.

Luffy blinked. He looked upwards, trying to remember what had happened last night. Zoro glared at him for a couple more seconds before releasing him, still muttering threats. Suddenly, Luffy laughed, it all coming back to him. "Oh yeah. My bad."

"Your bad?! That's all you have to say!?"

"Oh Luffy..." Chopper muttered, shaking his head.

######

**6:10 a.m.**

Nami looked out of the window of the departure lounge. After browsing the shops, her, Ace, Garp, Robin, Franky and Brook had gone to the departure gate. Outside, she could see the plane was ready. "Boarding's going to begin soon... They need to hurry up," she worriedly muttered to herself.

Ace eyed the growing queue and tiredly got up, slinging his rucksack over his left shoulder. No one else reacted. Ace sighed, "We should get in line. A queue's forming and I don't want to be right at the back."

Everyone nodded unenthusiastically and stood up. Things seemed to be a lot quieter when Luffy and the others weren't around.

######

The taxis skidded to a halt outside terminal 1 of Gol D Roger International Airport. Zoro immediately jumped out and yanked Luffy and Chopper's door open before they had the chance to. In the other taxi, Sanji mimicked this action, Usopp much slower to react than Luffy and Chopper had been.

"Lets go! Lets go!" Zoro shouted, quickly grabbing two bags from the taxi boot and then running off towards the entrance. Luffy followed, taking another two bags, whilst Chopper was only able to carry one.

"Wait!" Sanji shouted after them, still standing by the taxis. They didn't hear him, already out of earshot. "We need to pay the drivers..." He trailed off. He turned to Usopp, "Guess we'll have to split the fee between us."

Usopp nervously shuffled his feet. "About that... I'm a little short at the moment. I can cover my fifth of the fee, but beyond that... not really." Sanji narrowed his eyes.

"What, So I'm paying for Moss-head, Luffy and Chopper basically!"

Usopp patted Sanji on the back, "You're a nice guy, you really are." He then gave Sanji his money, took one bag out of the boot, and ran after Luffy, Zoro and Chopper.

"Wait!" Sanji shouted after him, "You only took one bag! There are still three left!"

Usopp pretended he couldn't hear him and stopped just outside the airport terminal, waving at Sanji once before going in.

Sanji growled, muttering threats under his breath as he paid both taxi drivers, and begrudgingly took all three remaining bags out of the taxi boot and sprinting after Usopp.

######

"What took you so long?" Zoro smirked as Sanji finally made it through the hand luggage and body check, a good five minutes after them.

"What took me so long...? I had to stay behind and pay the taxi drivers! Then I had to carry three bags to check in! Then I kept getting stopped by that idiot security guard who clearly doesn't know how to do one of their stupid scans properly!" Zoro shrugged, his lips twitching, trying but failing to hide how amusing he found the situation.

"Sucks to be you," he simply said. Sanji growled, before grinning.

"Oh yeah, by the way, You guys owe me money. I paid for your cab too."

Zoro's smug smirk disappeared. He then looked at the clock above the nearby departures board. 6:20. "We don't have time for that now, we need to hurry!"

Usopp went to the back of the crowd around the departures board and scanned the departures list. "Gate 33? Aww man, that's miles away!"

"Now's not the time for complaining!" Zoro snapped, "Plus, if you're going to blame anyone, blame Luffy!"

"Luffy?"

"Long story, I'll tell you on the plane," Zoro said, sprinting off in the direction of the gate. Luffy, Sanji and Chopper looked at each other before hurrying after him. Usopp blinked, before scrambling after them.

"What did Luffy do?"

######

**6:28 a.m.**

Nami slowly exhaled. By now, she had boarded the plane with the others. She was alone in her row, so presumably two of Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp and Chopper were meant to be sitting in the row with her. Behind her, Robin was alone too. Sitting across from Nami were Ace, Garp and Franky and behind them, Brook was sitting in the middle of the block of seats, an elderly man sitting on the window seat.

"So... they didn't make it," she muttered to Robin behind her.

Robin slowly nodded. Suddenly, they heard the sound of footsteps running up the boarding ladder.

"May I have your tickets please?" the surprised air hostess politely asked.

"Yeah," Zoro panted, "Sorry we're late." He then walked past her, onto the aisle, smirking when he saw Nami's face light up. Behind him, Sanji, Luffy, Chopper and Usopp wearily boarded the plane, one by one, panting heavily.

"We... made it..." Luffy panted, collapsing into his seat next to Nami, Sanji sitting next to him. Zoro and Chopper flopped down next to Robin, and Usopp took his seat next to Brook.

Nami thumped Luffy in the arm. "Ow!" he whined, "What was that for?!"

"For oversleeping... I warned you guys yesterday!"

**So good or not? Haha, I really hope you guys liked it. I'm gonna have to apologise in advance now though, because I have exams next week, so I probably won't be able to put a chapter up next week. I'll try but... It's gonna be tough. **

**As always, thanks for reading, and please do leave a review if you have the time. They're really nice to get.**


	5. Zoro and Kuina

**I know I said I wasn't going to have a chapter this week, but I just found a couple of spare hours and wrote this, plus a couple of other more rough chapters. This is actually the longest chapter I have ever put out so, really happy with that. **

**I do feel like I'm taking a little bit of a chance here. This chapter is actually kind of a twist, and probably not what you're expecting. So, I really really hope you like it. **

"I see," Sanji simply said. As soon as everyone had settled down, Usopp had asked Zoro what he meant when he said to 'blame Luffy' and Zoro explained that it was Luffy who was meant to set the alarm last night.

Sanji turned to Luffy who was sitting next to him. "So this was all your fault."

"I should have known..." Usopp muttered.

Nami sighed, "Well, to be fair, you probably shouldn't have trusted him with the job in the first place."

"Hey-" Luffy said defensively.

"Oh no," Ace cut in, stopping Luffy, "You can't defend yourself here Luffy."

"Idiot," Garp laughed, "Where did you get your braindeadness from?"

Luffy pouted, crossed his arms and puffed his cheeks out. Nami laughed, kissing him on the cheek. "Well, what's done is done, and it doesn't even matter now. The important thing is that we're all here now."

Everyone stared at her like she had three heads. She blinked, confused. "What?"

"Since when were you so nice?" Zoro blurted out, the only one brave enough to say what everyone else was thinking.

"Hey, I've always been nice!" Nami cried defensively.

Usopp, Zoro, Ace and Garp burst into laughter. Franky and Brook were more subtle about it, whilst Robin and Chopper giggled quietly. Now it was Nami's turn to pout and sulk.

"Shut up. You guys are jerks..."

Sanji perked up, "I agree. Nami is always perfectly sweet and nice!"

"Shut it love-cook," Zoro yawned.

"Shut up Moss-head. I'm surprised you're not sleeping now. That's all you seem to-"

"He is," Chopper interrupted.

"What?" Sanji turned around to see that Zoro had indeed dozed off halfway through Sanji's comeback. "Idiot," Sanji grumbled, turning back around.

######

The rest of the flight progressed smoothly. It was quite a long journey, 7 hours long in total. Given that everyone had had an early morning, most followed Zoro's example and went to sleep.

Nami cheekily smiled, taking her camera out of her handbag. She turned around and took a picture of the three behind her. Zoro was in the middle, his mouth wide open, completely knocked out. On the left, Chopper was resting his head on Zoro's lap, snoring lightly, Zoro's hand resting on his head. On the right, Robin was leaning onto Zoro, her head rested on his left shoulder.

"How cute," she gushed, admiring the picture, "They're kind of like a little family!"

Sanji smiled, the only other person on their side of the aisle who was still awake. "What are you up to?"

Nami showed Sanji the camera, reaching over the snoring Luffy. "Isn't it a cute picture?"

Sanji smirked, "I hate to admit it... but yeah."

On the other side of the aisle, the guys were playing a game.

"Ok, my turn," Usopp said, looking around the cabin. "Um... I spy with my little eye... something beginning with... C!"

"This is such a lame game..." Franky muttered to himself. The old man next to Brook then perked up.

"Is it... chair?"

"You got it!" Usopp grinned, high-fiving the man.

"Ace, it's your turn," Brook said, nudging Ace's seat from behind. Ace blinked, looking up from the magazine he had been engrossed in.

"What, oh yeah... Um... Yeah. Something beginning with..." He looked to the left, grinning. "I."

Garp yawned. "Aisle is spelt with an 'A', Ace."

Ace frowned, "I know that old man, I'm not Luffy you know!"

"Luffy..." Usopp mused, stroking his chin. "Wait... It's idiot isn't it?"

Ace returned his attention to his magazine, "Yep, you got it."

######

"Is there anything you would like sir?" the air hostess politely asked Sanji as she passed with the food cart.

Sanji sighed. "Not for me, but..." he trailed off, gesturing to Luffy whose eyes had shot open as soon as the cart had rolled up alongside their seats.

"How does he do that..." Nami muttered to herself.

Luffy's eyes twinkled as he looked over the cart. "I'll have... one of everything please."

The air hostess' eyes widened. "Um... are you sure sir?"

Luffy grinned, nodding. "Yes please!"

On the opposite side of the aisle, Ace and Garp eyed Luffy worriedly. "We need to keep an eye on him..." Ace muttered to Garp.

######

"Man!" Luffy loudly moaned, having finally finished eating, "How much longer 'til we're there!"

"Have patience," Nami sharply answered, not looking away from the in-flight magazine she was reading.

"We've been on this plane for hours...!" Luffy groaned, slumping further down in his chair.

"Jeez, you're such a kid..." Sanji grumbled, aware that people were starting to stare at them. Behind them Robin, who had just woken up, giggled. She looked at the still fast asleep Zoro.

"Someone's tired..." She smiled.

"When isn't he?" Nami said from in front of her.

"Kuina..." Zoro quietly mumbled in his sleep, not loud enough for anyone to hear him.

######

_**5 years ago**_

_"Oi Moss head, don't screw up, yeah?" a 12 year old Sanji smirked, tapping his gold medal. It was sports day, and it was time for Zoro's best track event, the 800m. Zoro stopped and turned around to glare at him._

_"Shut up! Just because you won your race, doesn't mean you can act all cocky like that!"_

_Nami rubbed her forehead in frustration, "Listen, we don't need you two to be bickering now. Zoro, good luck. If you win, we'll probably win sports day even if Luffy doesn't beat Law in the 100m."_

_Zoro nodded, "No problem. Leave it to me."_

_Zoro confidently strolled up to the starting line. The other competitors eyed him nervously. Well, all but one..._

_Zoro frowned at the sight of a girl at the end of the track, on the lane at the far end. She had relatively short black hair and was tall, taller than Zoro. Her eyes were big and round. She was fairly attractive, but Zoro didn't really care much about that. "Hey, I think you're meant to be a later race! The one for girls!"_

_The girl looked up at Zoro and frowned, "No, I'm in this race. Why, don't you think I can keep up with you?"_

_Zoro blinked and then smirked cockily, "You can try..."_

_"On your marks!" The starter shouted, breaking Zoro off. Zoro smirked and prepared himself. "Get set! Go!" The starter shouted, and the competitors sprinted off, Zoro taking an early lead. He led for all of the first lap, but midway through the second, the girl from earlier came from deep and caught up with him. On the last 100m, the unthinkable happened. She overtook him. Zoro pushed as hard as he could, but couldn't catch up._

_"No.. No way," he panted as he trudged off the track, angrily yanking his silver medal off the medal stand by the finish line._

_Chopper's eyes widened "I don't believe it..." He turned to Usopp, who also looked shocked._

_"He lost."_

_Zoro shoved past the two, who didn't bother trying to talk to him. Zoro was too competitive for his own good and no one dared talk to Zoro when he was this angry. Nami slyly ushered Luffy a little away from the others._

_"Well... It's all up to you now Luffy," Nami quietly said, not wanting Zoro to hear them. She put her hand on his shoulder. "Good luck."_

_Luffy laughed, "No problem, I'll definitely beat Trafal-guy!"_

_"Can the participants of the Men's 100m final please report to the start point now please," Principal Dadan of Grand Line Junior High announced through the loudspeaker._

_Luffy was about to go, when he saw Zoro, still sulking, out of the corner of his eye. He grinned and jogged up to him._

_"Wait Luffy! Zoro isn't-" Nami began, before Sanji held his hand in front of her. "Sanji..."_

_"Lets see what he has to say."_

_Luffy bent his knees and crouched down so that he was level with the sitting down Zoro. "You OK buddy?"_

_Zoro suddenly smirked, surprising everyone, "Damn... She's good."_

_Luffy laughed, "Yeah, that's what I thought you'd say!" He then got up and began heading to the starting point when Zoro stood up._

_"Wait Luffy!" Luffy turned around. "You'd better win!"_

_Luffy grinned, giving Zoro a thumbs up. "You bet I will!"_

_######_

_"You did it!" Nami cheered, immediately rushing to Luffy as he crossed the line in first place, literally millimetres ahead of Law in second. Everyone immediately crowded around Luffy. Zoro smirked and was about to join them, when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye._

_"That's her..." _

_Sure enough, the girl from before was standing there, a bit away from the track. She was idly chatting to a couple of girls who Zoro didn't recognise. Zoro mentally debated what to do for a couple of seconds before deciding to go up and talk to her._

_Sanji frowned as Zoro walked past them. "Where's moss-head off too?" _

_Nami looked at Zoro and then where he was going before gasping. "He's going to talk to that girl who beat him!"_

_"Oh boy," Franky gulped, "What do you think he's going to do to her?"_

_Chopper gawked at Franky, appalled. "Franky! Zoro wouldn't hurt someone just because they beat him!"_

_It was one of the other girls (girl number two in Zoro's mind) who spotted Zoro first, and turned to the girl number three and mouthed OMG. She then broke off from the other two and literally glided over to Zoro. Zoro groaned. He really wasn't in the mood. He gave her the most uninterested look possible as he walked past her. He heard a sniffle behind him and girl number three ran off behind him, Zoro not missing the ugly look she gave him. He smirked lightly. "Just Girl number one left now..."_

_"What do you want?" girl number one spat out, glaring a hole in Zoro. He was admittedly thrown by this. He glared back at her._

_"Jeez, what's your problem?"_

_"Did you not see what just happened?"_

_Zoro frowned, "What are you talking about?"_

_She stared at him for a second before realising he was actually being serious. He had no idea what had just happened. Her frown turned into a smile, before she started giggling._

_Zoro's frown deepened. He was really beginning to regret his decision to talk to her. "Yeah, well anyway, I just wanted to say well done. You're the first person who's ever beaten me, so... good job." He then turned around. "Jeez, she's so rude. This was such a mistake..."_

_"Wai-Wait!" the girl called after him, finally beginning to stop laughing. "Sorry about that. It's just quite funny that those two came up with a plan on how to flirt with you and you had no idea what was going on. You must have been so confused!"_

_Zoro absent-mindedly nodded. "Yeah, I guess."_

_"I'm Kuina," The girl smiled, holding her hand out._

_Zoro nodded, still not sure about this girl. She had just spent like a minute laughing at him. He hesitantly took her outstretched hand, "I'm Zoro."_

_"So you were unbeaten, huh?" Zoro blinked._

_"Yeah..." he lamely replied. The two stood there in awkward silence for a few seconds, before Kuina frowned, peering over Zoro's shoulder._

_"Why are those people staring at us?"_

_Zoro turned around before realising that 'those people' were his friends. When they saw Zoro looking back at them, they pretended they hadn't just been looking. He shook his head. "Just ignore them, they're too nosy for their own good."_

_There was another awkward silence, before Kuina sighed, seeming disappointed. "I've got to go. Nice meeting you Zoro." She smiled awkwardly once at Zoro before turning around. She began to walk away when Zoro stopped her._

_"Wait Kuina! There's something I wanted to ask!"_

_She turned around. "Yeah?"_

_He stared at the ground and shuffled his feet nervously. The 12 year old Zoro had never asked a girl out before. "Um... Maybe if you're free after school, we could... I don't know... hang out together..."_

_Kuina stared at him for a moment, before smiling warmly. "Zoro." Zoro looked up from his feet. "I'd love to."_

_Zoro blinked, surprised, before smirking. "Really? Um..."_

_"Meet you outside school in an hour?"_

_Zoro nodded, lost for words. Kuina gave him her warm smile, before walking off. Zoro just stood there, before he felt someone put their arms around his neck._

_"Good job Zoro!" Nami gushed, "I never realised you were the romantic type."_

_"No more calling me love-cook, eh?" Sanji grumbled from behind her, clearly annoyed that Zoro had gotten his first girlfriend before him (It would actually be five years before Sanji reached this milestone with Hancock). Luffy cheered, jumping onto Zoro's back._

_"Nice Zoro!"_

_Zoro growled and shook Luffy off. He turned around to glare at them. "Were you guys seriously listening to everything we said?"_

######

_**3 1/2 years later**_

_Kuina frowned. She was sitting in the Baratie, the nicest restaurant in town, courtesy of a discount from Sanji. Even if he had seemed bitter towards Zoro when she had first met him, he was actually really supportive of their relationship. She was meant to meet Zoro at the restaurant for dinner at 7pm for what seemed like just a regular date. She wished. She had come half an hour early so she could rehearse what she was going to say. Things had changed a lot since they had first met. She was 15 and Zoro was 16, and the two had been together ever since that sports day, pretty impressive when most relationships at the age of 12 seem to end after a couple of days._

_She ran her hands through her hair and groaned. "How am I going to do this..." she muttered to herself. From across the restaurant, Sanji was eyeing her worriedly. He made his way to her table and sat down opposite her._

_"Kuina?" he softly called._

_She looked up, not noticing him come over to her. "Sanji! Is Zoro here yet!"_

_He shook his head. "What's wrong? You seem... kind of stressed..."_

_She sat there in silence, her eyes dropping to the table. Sanji remained at the table for a couple more seconds, waiting for a response. When it seemed like her wasn't getting one, he sighed and got up. "It's OK, you don't have to tell me..."_

_"I'm moving."_

_Sanji's stopped mid stride. He turned around, his eyes wide. "Wait, what? When?"_

_Tears filled her eyes. "Tomorrow."_

_"Why didn't you say-"_

_"Because I couldn't!" she shouted, losing all composure. "I didn't know how to tell you guys!"_

_Sanji frowned. He hesitantly moved to her side and placed his hand on her shoulder, "It's OK..."_

_"How am I going to tell him..." she sobbed._

_"Just tell him. He'll understand. Don't worry, no matter what happens, everyone will be here for you," he softly comforted. Just then, the restaurant door opened and Zoro casually walked in. He scanned the restaurant before spotting Kuina, who still hadn't composed herself and Sanji. Zoro frowned and literally sprinted to the table. He immediately glared at Sanji._

_"What the hell did you do Love-cook!?" he growled._

_Sanji blinked, moving away from Kuina. He narrowed his eyes. "Me? I didn't do anything?"_

_"So why is she upset!?"_

_"Zoro..." Kuina voice trembled, "We have to break up."_

_Zoro's eyes widened. He turned around to face Kuina, who wasn't looking at him, her eyes fixed on the table. He opened his mouth a couple of times, but no words came out. Finally, on the third go, he managed a weak, "Why...?"_

_Kuina suddenly stood up and pushed Zoro to the side, running past him and out of the restaurant. Zoro quickly recovered and glanced at Sanji once, who looked equally shocked, before running after her._

_######_

_Kuina fell to the sand, and held her face in her hands, unable to stop the tears which were now flowing freely. The beach next to the Baratie was deserted this late at night on a January evening, so it had seemed like a good place to go to be alone. However, she wasn't alone._

_"What's wrong...?" Zoro calmly asked from behind her. Kuina's head shot up. She had had no idea he was there._

_"What are you doing here?" she muttered, not looking at him. Zoro didn't answer. "Please. Just leave me alone. It will be easier this way."_

_"What did I do wrong?"_

_Kuina sobbed quietly. "Nothing, nothing. It's not you, it's me-"_

_"Don't give me that crappy line. What's going on?"_

_Kuina fully burst into tears. Zoro's eyes widened. He went around her and dropped to the ground, pulling her into a hug._

_"Please Kuina, tell me what's wrong!"_

_"I-I'm moving tomorrow. M-My dad got a n-new job on s-some island in the W-west Blue..."_

_Zoro gasped. "Thats on the other side of the world..."_

_"I-I'm so so sorry..."_

_"So what!" Zoro suddenly erupted, his eyes blazing. "That doesn't mean we have to break up! We can still call each other! Or even write!"_

_"It's not the same..." Kuina mumbled hopelessly, "It's not gonna work out..."_

_"Why not?" Zoro angrily came back, pulling away from Kuina and staring her straight in the eyes._

_"We'll grow apart..." she sadly muttered, not able to look Zoro in the eye, instead staring at the ground, "I'll meet new people there. A-And you'll meet new people too. It-It just can't be..."_

_Zoro continued to look at Kuina, but she refused to meet his stare. He sighed and stood up, walking past her. He continued walking away from Kuina, not looking back once. "Fine. If that's what you want, Goodbye."_

_Kuina stared sadly at Zoro as he walked away, wanting so badly to call out to him, but not having the heart to do it. Instead she fell back to the ground, and burst into tears again._

_######_

**_The next morning_**

_"Ready darling?" Kuina's father cheerfully asked, opening the door of the driver's seat. "Our flight's in a couple of hours, so we could stop by Zoro's if you want?"_

_Kuina shook her head. "I doubt he wants to see me..."_

_"Hey Kuina!" a voice called from behind her. She turned around to see Luffy running down her road towards her, with Nami, Usopp, Chopper, Franky and Brook behind him._

_Nami threw her arms around Kuina when she reached her. "Why didn't you tell us you were leaving?" she demanded angrily._

_"Y-You guys..." Kuina choked, beginning to feel tears in her eyes again. Nami pulled away, her anger gone and replaced with a cheerful smile._

_"You don't think we'd let you leave without saying goodbye right?" She smiled, winking at the end._

_A smile tugged on Kuina's lips, "Th-Thank you..." She looked around, thinking that Zoro would be there too, but her face fell when she realised he wasn't. "Zoro..."_

_Just then, Sanji turned the corner onto the street, his hands dug deep in his pockets. He was staring straight at the ground, a grim expression on his face. he stopped just short of them. _

_Nami stared impatiently at him. "Well?"_

_"He wasn't answering the door," Sanji replied. "I tried calling him, but he's not picking up the phone either." He then turned to Kuina. "I don't know what happened last night, but he's really hurt."_

_Luffy blinked. "That's weird. Why would Zoro not want to say goodbye?"_

_Nami sighed. "I wouldn't expect you to understand. It's probably too painful for him..."_

_Kuina frowned and turned away from the others, opening the car door. "It's fine, he said goodbye last night. Bye guys. I... I'll miss all of you a lot. Thanks for every..." she teared up, "Everything."_

_She closed the door, and the car reversed out of the drive, setting off for the airport. Nami's sad expression was then replaced with one of anger. She turned furiously to Sanji. "What do you mean 'he's hurt'?! And Kuina isn't? Doesn't he know how bad she must feel?!"_

_Sanji sighed, "He knows, but he's just too hurt. I hope he does the right thing, before it's too late..."_

_######_

_Zoro jumped, back first, onto his bed and groaned, annoyed. He glanced at the clock on his bedside table. "Damn... She'll be on her way now..."_

_"So how long are you going to just lie there?" Koshiro asked from the open doorway. He had been observing Zoro for the last ten minutes or so, but Zoro didn't care._

_"Don't..."_

_Koshiro shook his head. "Do you think it was easy for me when your mother died all those years ago?" Zoro winced. He still remembered that night when he had come home from Primary school with Sanji, and his dad had taken him into the kitchen to tell him that his mother had died in a car accident._

_"Dad..."_

_"I felt heartbroken. The love of my life had gone. But heartbreak is part of life, and you can't allow it to overcome you. I can live with her death because I remember all the happy times we had together. Don't you feel the same way? Besides, even if Kuina is leaving, does that change how you feel about her? Do you want her last memory of you to be an unhappy one? You should cherish your memories of her, not regret them. I trust you'll do the right thing."_

_With that, Koshiro turned around and left. Zoro stared up at the ceiling, fresh tears on his face from the memory of his mother. Suddenly, his expression hardened, and he wiped the tears from his face, before smirking. "Got it." He jumped up, reached into his wardrobe and hurriedly threw on some clothes._

_"Oh, and just where are you going?" Koshiro asked from the bottom of the stairs, seeing Zoro jump out of his room, fully dressed, and sprint down the stairs._

_"I've got to get to the airport," he smirked, "Thanks dad."_

_Koshiro smiled as Zoro ran out of the house, unchained his bike and set off. "That's my son."_

_######_

_"We'll be departing shortly," The pilot's voice announced. Kuina sighed, and stared at the back of the seat in front of her._

_"Wait!" Someone shouted from the runway. Kuina gasped, recognising the voice._

_"Young man, how-" the air hostess began._

_"Not now," Zoro panted from the bottom of the boarding ladder, "Please, I need to talk to someone on that plane."_

_"I'm calling security," one of the other air hostesses said._

_"NO!" Kuina, shouted, jumping up from her seat, "It's fine, I'll go talk to him. He's my... friend."_

_Zoro felt a pang in his heart when she said 'friend'. She hopped down the ladder and stopped in front of Zoro, unable to look him in the eyes._

_Zoro paused, not sure how to break the awkward silence. He weakly smirked. "Well... I left it pretty late, right?"_

_Kuina chuckled humourlessly, "Yeah..." There was another awkward silence before Zoro chuckled. Kuina frowned._

_"This reminds me of the time we met," Zoro smirked. "I didn't know what to say. I was never very good at talking to girls."_

_Kuina didn't answer._

_"But that didn't matter to you. You still gave me a chance."_

_No answer. Zoro finally sighed._

_"Kuina... Thank you." Kuina looked up at him, confused. She hadn't been expecting that._

_"Why?"_

_"For everything. These past three years have been great! Don't you think so?" He smiled widely, again surprising Kuina._

_"But-"_

_"When I think about you, I want to remember all the fun times we had! That first Sports Day! Our first Date! That time at the amusement park!"_

_Kuina laughed, remembering how Zoro had held onto her for dear life on the scariest ride. The post ride picture of them was absolutely hilarious, with Zoro literally in tears whilst Kuina was laughing her head off._

_"Or that time I got lost on the school trip to the zoo, and you found me, confused, by the monkeys."_

_Kuina giggled again. "You've got such a bad sense of direction..."_

_"I don't want to remember last night..." Zoro continued. "I don't want that to be the last memory you have of me. I want this to be..."_

_"What-" Kuina began, but she was cut off by Zoro pressing his lips against hers. The kiss lasted a few more seconds before Zoro slowly pulled away, but remained close, their foreheads touching._

_"I love you Kuina..."_

_Kuina teared up. She smiled widely, the most she had smiled all week. "I love you too Zoro!"_

_"Promise me you'll remember this moment when you think of me..." he muttered._

_Kuina nodded, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. "I'll never forget you..."_

_The two then fully pulled away, tears running down Zoro's cheeks too. "Go! I'm sure you'll have fun and meet loads of new exciting people!"_

_Kuina nodded. "Yeah! Thank you Zoro. For everything!"_

_Zoro waved. "Yeah, you too! Now go! And don't look back!"_

_Kuina turned around and made her way back up the ladder, continually resisting the temptation to look back. Zoro smirked, wiping the tears off his right cheek._

_"Goodbye..."_

_######_

Zoro's eyes opened. He drearily looked around before rubbing his forehead. "Why did I remember something like that now..." Robin, who had been watching him sleeping for the last minute or so, frowned and looked worriedly at him. However Zoro was so out of it, that he didn't even notice.

"Something like what?" Robin prompted. Zoro blinked and turned to her.

"Robin! Oh... it's nothing."

"Honestly... you're so weird," Sanji commented from in front of him.

"Shut it," Zoro growled, kicking the seat in front of him. Unfortunately, that seat belonged to Luffy and not Sanji.

"OW! Zoro, what was that for!" Luffy whined. Suddenly, the pilot's voice interrupted them.

"We will be beginning our descent to Sabaody shortly. I would like to take this time to thank you for flying with us. If Sabaody is your holiday destination, I wish you a happy holiday. If you are returning from holiday, welcome home."

Luffy grinned, throwing his hands up in the air, "Yeah! It's about time!"

Nami rolled her eyes.

######

After everyone had gotten through border control, which had taken actually a really long time, everyone was getting restless. Due to time differences, it was already 7:30pm in Sabaody, and everyone was desperate to get out of the airport, find a restaurant to have dinner and then go to the hotel to relax.

"Let's go!" Luffy shouted, rushing off in the direction of the 'exit' sign.

"Wait!" Ace sharply said, grabbing Luffy's shoulder and yanking him back. "We need to get our bags. They don't just magically fly to the hotel, you know?"

"I'll deal with that," Zoro smirked, setting off in the direction of baggage reclaim. Sanji sighed and followed him.

"I'd better go too. I mean, I know there's a sign pointing to it, but you'll probably still find a way to get lost..."

Zoro growled, but couldn't come up with a comeback. Luffy grinned and started to look around, still hungry despite pretty much cleaning out the plane's food supplies.

"While they do that, lets go get some food-" Luffy began, but Ace once again yanked him back.

"We're going to help too," he firmly said, literally dragging Luffy with him to the baggage reclaim.

"Aww..." Luffy moaned.

######

"Oy Moss-head!" Sanji called from the other side of baggage carousel. Next to him, Ace and Luffy were both loading a couple of bags each onto one of the three trolleys. "We're nearly done here, we just need Robin's bag. We're going to be waiting by the exit with the others, meet us there." Zoro nodded, and then turned his attention back to the carousel. After a minute or so of waiting, he found the bag and then turned his attention to the task of finding the exit.

Lucky for him, the exit was close and actually in sight. He could see the others waiting. Luffy was talking to Usopp and Chopper, with Chopper looking impressed at something. Ace and Garp were leaning against the trolley, their arms crossed, probably talking about something more serious. Nami was showing Sanji something in a Sabaody tourist guide book she had picked up in one of the shops in the airport back home. Robin and Franky were watching Brook, trying and failing to flirt with an attractive blonde girl nearby.

Zoro began to make his way to them, but he stopped about halfway. He felt someone's stare. He looked to the left. Nothing. Then to the right, where a girl with black hair was watching him. When he looked at her, she blushed and looked away. Zoro continued to look at her. She sighed and turned to him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to stare. It's just... You remind me of someone." It took everything in Zoro to stop him from rolling his eyes at that.

"Really?" Zoro dully replied, trying but failing to show interest. The girl continued to stare at Zoro, which was deeply irritating him.

The girl then gasped and slowly walked up to him. "N-No way..."

Zoro stared at her,"What?" _"Damn, she's crazy..."_

"Z-Zoro..." she whispered.

Zoro's eyes widened. "How do you-" He paused and really took in her appearance. There was no doubt about it. Black hair. athletic body. Those eyes...

"K-Kuina?"

**So yeah, what do you think? Do you like the introduction of Kuina into both the past and present? Please let me know! (Reviews as always are much appreciated).**

**And before anyone mentions it, yes Kuina and Zoro's goodbye was EXTREMELY cheesy. Looking back at that, I really do wonder how I wrote it :/ Either way, I hope you guys enjoyed it. I am quite unsure about how this chapter will go down, so I'd love some feedback if possible.**

**Thank you for reading.**


	6. Settling in

**I was really surprised by how well the last chapter went down. You guys seemed to really like the idea of introducing Kuina into the story, so that's really worked out well for me. I got an absolute ton of reviews, can't remember ever getting so many for one chapter in such a short space of time. So thanks a lot for that, and hope you like this chapter too.**

"Zoro!" Kuina screeched, jumping up and throwing her arms around him. Zoro awkwardly fumbled his arms around her, completely in shock. He couldn't quite believe what was happening.

Kuina then suddenly pulled away and excitedly looked him over, wanting to fully take in Zoro's appearance. "Wow! You actually look kind of different!" She put her left hand around his right bicep. "I see you still work out. These are way bigger than they used to be!"

Zoro smirked at the compliment, "Yeah... You've changed too. Your hair's longer, it looks... nice this way."

Kuina giggled before throwing her arms around Zoro again, "I can't believe its you! God, I know its only been like 2 years, but it feels like its been longer..." she babbled. "God, what are the odds?"

Zoro nodded weakly. "What are the odds..."

From the exit, everyone was watching the scene curiously. No one was saying anything, just staring at the pair, who where completely oblivous to their gaze. Eventually, Robin was the first to break the silence. "What's going on?"

Sanji sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Does he really not realise we can see him?"

Luffy shook his head. "No. There's something about her. I can't quite..." Nami nodded.

"Yeah, I can't quite make out what it is..."

Zoro then turned to them and pointed them out to Kuina. Kuina's already wide smile widened further. She took Zoro's hand and dragged him towards them.

Suddenly Nami gasped. "No way." She then ran towards Kuina and pulled her into a hug. "Kuina!"

"Kuina?" The rest of the guys, bar Robin, all said simultaneously, looking at each other. They then looked back at Kuina, before nodding at different stages, at last recognising her.

Kuina smiled, going up to them. "Oh my God, you guys! You're all here!" She looked around them, before her eyes settled on Robin. "Oh hi, I don't think we've met before. I'm Kuina!" she smiled warmly, holding her hand out to Robin.

Robin weakly smiled, still not quite liking how she had been hugging Zoro. She hesitantly took her hand, "I'm Robin."

Zoro, who had been in a daze, took this moment to perk up, "Yeah, she's my girlfriend."

Kuina's wide smile fell. "Oh."

There was an awkward silence, everyone's eyes jumping from Zoro to Kuina to Robin. Luffy, oblivious to the situation, frowned. "What?"

Nami chuckled awkwardly. "Well... I guess it had to be said..."

Kuina shook her head, "Don't worry about it, its fine. Zoro always was popular with the girls! It's not surprising that he has a girlfriend... and a pretty one at that!" she weakly smiled at Robin. Everyone, bar Luffy, could tell that her mood had changed, but no one pressed it.

Another awkward silence.

Sanji coughed nervously. "So Kuina, Are you on holiday here too?"

Kuina smiled, more convincingly this time, and nodded, "Yeah. I'm with mom and dad. We're staying at the Sabaody Grove Hotel."

Ace blinked. "Really? So are we!"

"Oh wow, really..." Zoro muttered to himself, although Nami overheard him and shot him a warning glare.

"So how long are you here for?" Chopper asked.

"I'm here for a week. How about you guys?"

"Ten days," Nami smiled. "But enough of that. How have you been?" Kuina opened her mouth to answer, but Zoro cut her off.

"Let's save the catching up for another place," Nami once again glared at Zoro whilst Kuina looked a bit hurt, but nodded.

"Yeah, he's right. This isn't really the best place for that. Lets meet at the hotel restaurant tonight at 9ish? I've heard the food there is really good, typical local cuisine."

Luffy's eyes lit up, "Really! I'm in!"

"Oh, there's my mom and dad! I was meant to meet up with them like a couple of minutes ago. See you guys tonight," Kuina smiled, looking once at Zoro, who didn't look back at her. She frowned, before waving at her parents and making her way over to them.

######

With the large amount of people, plus their luggage, it required four taxis to get everyone and all the bags to the hotel. Garp and Ace took the first one, taking the lion share of the luggage with them. Brook, Usopp and Franky took the third. Zoro had planned to go with Robin and Chopper, But Nami had insisted on him going with her and Luffy in the third taxi, so Robin, Chopper and Sanji took the final one.

As soon as he entered the taxi, Sanji looked worriedly at Robin. She hadn't said a word since introducing herself to Kuina.

"Robin?" Chopper frowned. She didn't respond.

"Are you OK?" Sanji softly asked Robin.

"Who was that?" Robin asked, looking out of the window and not at Sanji and Chopper.

"She was Zoro's ex-girlfriend. His only one before you actually. They were together for a long time, three and a half years or something like that. They broke up when she moved to another country... but they were really close," Sanji explained, hesitant before saying the last part.

"I see," Robin simply said.

Sanji reached over Chopper in the middle, and put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Moss-head is completely, 100%, head over heels in love with you. He loved Kuina. But he loves you."

Robin nodded, weakly smiling. Sanji wasn't convinced she was OK, but decided to not push her any more.

######

"What the hell is wrong with you!" Nami shouted as soon as she entered the taxi. Both Luffy and Zoro blinked and looked at each other.

"What did I do?" Luffy exclaimed, shocked. I mean, usually when Nami told him off, he at least knew that he'd done something wrong.

"Not you idiot, Zoro!" It was Zoro's turn to look shocked.

"Me?"

"This is the first time you've seen your ex-girlfiend since she left! How can you be so cold towards her!"

"Cold?"

"'She's my girlfriend'. You couldn't have said that in a better way?!"

"Well she is!" Zoro argued defensively. Nami sighed.

"And 'let's save catching up for later'? You're acting like you don't care about her at all!"

"That's not true!"

"Really? Because it sure sounded like that."

Zoro sighed. "I just don't want her getting the wrong idea..."

Nami nodded understandingly. "I get that. But you're going to the extreme. Even if you're not a couple, you two can still be friends. Besides, I'm sure Kuina has a boyfriend too."

Zoro nodded, "Yeah, you're probably right..."

######

"Woah! It's so big!" Luffy gawked as he got out of the taxi.

"Honestly, why are you always..." Nami began as she got out after him, but stopped when she too saw the hotel. It looked at least 10 storeys high. There was a coy pond in front of the entrance, where Ace and Garp were helping the doormen and bellhops with the luggage. The pond was filled with brightly coloured fishes and Sanji and Chopper were standing by it, with Sanji telling Chopper which type of fish each of them were. Brook and Franky were lying on the small garden next to the coy pond. Brook taking his shoes off, both exhausted by the heat of Tropical Sabaody. All around the car park were palm trees, and behind the hotel, you could catch a glimpse of the beach and sea. Robin smiled and walked up to their taxi, waiting for Zoro, who emerged a couple of seconds after Nami.

"Hey," she warmly smiled.

Zoro didn't answer for a couple of seconds, deep in thought about how to apologise to Kuina. Robin nudged him, snapping him out of his daze. "Oh, hey..." he dully greeted, not giving her the usual smirk he did. Robin frowned, feeling a sinking feeling in her stomach.

A young woman then came out of the entrance She looked around and finally stood in the middle of the car park as everyone was scattered around the area. "Hello and welcome to the Sabaody Grove hotel! My name is Shakky and I'm the manager here," she brightly introduced. She then turned to Ace and Garp, "Your rooms are ready if you would like to see them?"

Ace nodded, "Yeah, that would be great. We've had a day of travelling, so everyone's a bit tired."

Shakky smiled, nodding sympathetically. "Of course, I understand. Well, if you will all follow me..."

One by one everyone entered the hotel, marvelling at the incredible lobby. There was a large fountain in the middle of the lobby, with the main desk behind it. On both sides were large staircases, with a a couple of elevators to the left of the desk.

"Do you have your reservation?" Shakky asked, when she reached the front desk. Ace dug into his rucksack and fished out a few sheets of paper. Shakky looked at them and nodded. "You have 5 double rooms, two on the 3rd floor, one on the 4th, one on the 6th and one on the tenth."

Garp turned to the others. "Me and Ace will be bunking together, and we're getting one of the rooms on the third floor. You heard the rest, so you have four rooms to share between the 9 of you."

Sanji smirked, putting his hand up. "Got it. Moss-head and Luffy then Usopp and Chopper then Franky and Brook and finally, me, Robin and Nami!"

"No!" Nami snapped, thumping Sanji on the head. "As me and Robin are girls, we should share one of the rooms."

"We're happy to share a room too," Franky said, gesturing to him and Brook.

"Usopp! Chopper! You guys want to stay with me?" Luffy grinned. Both nodded. Nami looked less than thrilled with that group.

Garp nodded. "OK, so we're settled,"

"No way!" Both Zoro and Sanji shouted simultaneously, "I'm not sharing a room with that jerk!"

"Please Sanji, for me?" Nami asked, clasping both of her hands together. Sanji smiled widely.

"OK!" Zoro rolled his eyes.

"Oy love cook, Remember your girlfriend, Hancock?" Sanji glared at him. "Besides, even if you can convince the tool chef, you can't convince me."

"Doesn't matter. 8 out of 9 of us have agreed on those arrangements," Nami replied.

Zoro opened his mouth to protest, but decided against it. Even if he tried, there was no was he could win an argument with Nami.

"Excellent," Shakky then said, getting everyone's attention. "Well then, if you're ready, I'll lead you to the rooms."

######

The first stop was the third floor, where the the first two rooms were. They were right at the end of the corridor, right next to a door leading out onto the balcony. Ace and Garp must have known about this beforehand, as the balcony had a perfect view of the beach and sea, which was literally right next to the hotel, a lot closer than it had seemed before.

"Your bags will be coming up shortly, but for now, you can settle in," Shakky said, "You're actually in the perfect location for the balcony here, which has a perfect view of Sabaody beach, which is a minute or so walk away from here."

"We'll be staying here," Ace said, him and Garp walking into the first room. Immediately upon entering, there was a small kind of entrance hall, with a closet to the left. To the right was a bathroom, with a gleaming white sink and bath, also equipped with a shower. Beyond the entrance area was the room, which had a large king-sized bed at the back of the room and a long flat screen TV opposite it. On the far side of the room was a table and some chairs, with the whole back wall being a window looking out onto the sea.

"Wow!" Luffy, Chopper and Usopp all gasped, their eyes gleaming. The rest of the guys were also impressed.

"Wow," Nami squealed from the bathroom, "the bathtub is huge!"

"And that's the biggest TV I've ever seen," Sanji added.

Shakky laughed, "Thank you all very much. I'm glad to see the room is very much to your liking."

"Hey," Luffy grinned, nudging Shakky, "Are all the rooms like this?"

Shakky giggled, "Of course!"

Ace flopped down on the bed, kicking his sandals off. "Man, this is amazing. Gramps, this bed is so soft!"

Garp did the same as Ace, surprising Shakky. She hadn't expected an old man to jump onto the bed like an excited kid. "Thank you Miss Shakky," he said politely, before turning to Luffy and the others. "The rest of you, scram. I want to relax before dinner. It's 7:30 now and we'll head down in about an hour and a half. Until then, entertain yourselves."

Everyone nodded, and Shakky led the rest of them out. "And this room is also yours," she said, gesturing to the room opposite it.

"That's us," Nami said, taking Robin's hand and opening the door.

Zoro frowned. "Hey, who agreed that you'd get this room?"

"Luffy, Sanji, Usopp and Chopper all did. Franky, Brook, any complaints?" They both shook their head, knowing that arguing would be futile. "Well?" Nami smiled, turning to Zoro. Zoro frowned and looked at Sanji.

Sanji opened his mouth to answer, but Zoro didn't let him. "Forget it. I already know you're a lost cause." He turned to Luffy.

"She's scary," he simply said. Zoro shrugged and moved on to Usopp.

"Same reason as Luffy." Zoro muttered 'fair enough' and turned to Chopper.

"Same reason."

Shakky giggled at the small interaction. "Well, if that is settled, we can move on the the 4th floor."

######

"I can't believe we found Kuina here! I mean what an unbelievable stroke of luck!" Nami babbled. She was in the bathroom, applying some make-up for tonight.

Robin, who was sitting at the table, reading a book, unenthusiastically replied 'yeah'. After what Sanji had told her, she had stopped worrying about Kuina, but when Zoro had brushed her off earlier, her fears had resurfaced. Did Kuina still have feelings for him? Did he still have feelings for her?

She ran her hands through her hair. She shouldn't feel this stressed while on vacation, that's for sure.

Nami frowned as she left the bathroom, "Robin? Are you OK?"

Robin absent-mindedly nodded, not even really listening to the question.

Nami sighed, "Robin, I'm serious. If you ever have any problems, you can always come and talk to me. We're best friends, right?"

Robin smiled and nodded, deciding to put on a smile for Nami. She was right, ever since she had first joined Grand Line High School, other than Zoro, Nami was the one she hung out with the most.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and Nami went to the door, jerking back when she saw Luffy's toothy grin through the peep-hole. Robin could hear their laughter through the door.

"Those idiots..." Nami darkly muttered, swinging the door open.

"They're screwed," Robin commented as she turned a page in her book.

######

"What, you're sleeping already?" Sanji grumbled, seeing Zoro snoring loudly on top of the fully made bed. Shakky hadn't even left 30 seconds ago as well. Brook and Franky had taken the room on the fourth floor and Luffy, Usopp and Chopper had taken the one on the sixth floor, leaving him and Zoro on the tenth floor. As Shakky had promised, all of the rooms were pretty much the same. By now, the bags had made their way to their room, with the bellhop clearly relieved to have finally finished the task of getting everyone's bags to the right room.

Zoro didn't reply and Sanji rolled his eyes. He looked around the room before sitting down at the table and grabbing the TV remote. However before he even had the chance to press a button, the doorbell rang. He frowned and got up. He looked through the peep-hole, but jerked backwards when he saw Luffy's big toothy grin right next to the hole. He heard the sound of laughter on the other side of the door and Luffy say 'works every time'. Sanji opened the door and glared at the three.

"What could you possibly need already?"

"We're bored. Do you guys wanna go explore?"

Sanji nodded, glancing back at Zoro. "I'm up for it, but Moss-head's down for the count. One sec, let me get changed, its really hot outside."

Sanji changed out of this t-shirt and jeans, and put on a Hawaiian shirt, fitting for the tropical Sabaody Island, and some shorts. He looked at Zoro once, before remembering to leave a key in case Zoro woke up before he got back. He left the key on the table, leaving a small note explaining where they were going.

When he opened the door, he was surprised to see Luffy, Usopp and Chopper all lying on the floor, looking bored out of their minds. "There you are," Luffy whined, "we were getting bored."

Sanji rolled his eyes, "I took like 5 minutes."

"Exactly!" Luffy whined.

"Whatever," Sanji sighed, shaking his head. "Anyway, I saw some leaflets in the hotel lobby. I figure if we're gonna go out and have a small look around the island, we can use the leaflets to see what things there are to do here and maybe go and check some of them out today to see if they're worth seeing later."

Luffy yawned over-dramatically. "No way, that's way too boring."

Sanji rolled his eyes, "No, that's the sensible thing to do. Fine, I'll deal with all the planning, you guys just... do whatever. We should go see Nami, she'll want to help me plan what we'll do too."

Usopp shook his head, "No she won't. We stopped by their room first, but Nami told us to go away because she wanted to relax. When we didn't leave and just waited outside her room, she threw her shoes at us."

"Sanji, can I help you?" Chopper enthusiastically smiled. Luffy looked shocked.

"Chopper? You want to do the boring thing too?"

Sanji glared at Luffy, "No, he wants to do the sensible thing." He then turned to Chopper. "Yeah, sure."

Luffy then grinned and jumped up onto his feet. "Enough talking, Lets go!"

**What do you think? Please tell me you like it...**

**As always, if you really enjoyed it, drop a review! They really do mean a lot to me.**


	7. The First Evening

**I'm surprised at how tense people are getting about Kuina, which is actually really good for me. I've loved reading the reviews from the last couple of chapters. **

**Which brings me onto another point. The support I've got so far has been amazing. If I can keep getting as many views and reviews as I'm getting now, I'll be very happy. The support means a lot to me. **

**Another pretty long chapter here, took a lot of work tbh. Really hope you like it!**

"Wow, not even here ten minutes, and you're already on the move," Shakky said, impressed. Sanji grinned, scratching his head.

"Yeah well, lazing around in a hotel isn't exactly my idea of fun. Anyway-"

"Come on Sanji!" Luffy loudly whined at him from the hotel entrance, clearly desperate to go outside.

"Wait a minute!" Sanji yelled back at him, before turning back to Shakky, "Sorry, my friend is... well, you know, right?" Shakky nodded. "Anyway, do you have a map by any chance?"

"Of course", Shakky replied, pulling a drawer out, grabbing a folded up map, and putting it down on the desk. She opened it up, having to unfold it several times. By now, Luffy, Usopp and Chopper had gotten bored and had joined Sanji at the front desk. She took out a pen and began to explain, "This is Sabaody Island. As you can see, it is fairly large. To the North is the town. This is split into two parts. There is New Sabaody, which is a shopping district, with many large hotels and fantastic restaurants. I believe they built a theme park there recently as well."

"That whole area?" Sanji asked. Shakky nodded.

"Then next to Sabaody park is the old town. This is a historic area, and the buildings are very old. There are many museums here, as well as there being what used to be the one of the Celestial Dragons' palace and gardens. This has now been converted into a museum."

"We'll definitely be going there," Sanji muttered, more to himself than anyone, Luffy gawking at this. Museums weren't his idea of fun. Shakky nodded and circled that on the map.

Chopper frowned. "Whats a celestial dragon?"

"A couple of hundred years ago, the twenty kings originally established the World Government. The Celestial Dragons are the Descendants of those kings. As time went on, their involvement in the World Government and so their influence decreased. A good thing too, they're meant to be really arrogant and stuck up. I don't hear much about them these days," Sanji explained to Chopper. He then turned to Shakky. "Sorry, continue."

"The east and south sides of the island are leisure areas and the coasts are beaches for Tourists. As you can see, our hotel is situated just here on the east cost," Shakky continued to explain, circling the hotel. "There is also a harbour nearby, and many very good seafood restaurants. The harbour also has many stalls, so it is very popular for tourists."

Sanji nodded, "We'll probably check that out now then."

"Finally, the west side of the island has the rainforest. It is a nature reserve and you can spend a day or two exploring this with a guide." she pointed to the leaflets stand to the left of the desk. "There's a leaflet there with all the details in how to reserve one, although from my experience, you should be able to just turn up on the day and ask for a guide. But, its tourist season, so its probably worth arranging a day in advance, just to be sure."

Sanji nodded, "Yeah, I understand. Hey Chopper, can you go grab one of those leaflets for me? And take any other cool-looking ones too" Chopper nodded.

"I'll help too," Luffy volunteered, wanting to be anywhere but there.

"Oh, and there are also many islands around Sabaody, which you can look at. They are all very popular with tourists. They're mainly shopping islands."

Sanji nodded, "Thank you very much for you help."

"No problem," Shakky smiled.

Luffy grinned, seeing that their conversation was finally over. "Great! Now can we go?" Sanji hadn't even finished nodding before Luffy shot out of the hotel entrance.

######

"This is so cool!" Chopper squealed, excitedly looking around the harbour. Along the seafront, there was a line of restaurants and small stalls.

"Hey Chopper!" Luffy called from one of the stalls, where he and Usopp were watching a man demonstrate the toys sold in the stall. "You gotta check this out!" Chopper gasped and ran up to the stall.

"Excuse me sir!" someone shouted. Sanji turned around and saw a girl in her 20s waving at him. "Are you a tourist?" Sanji nodded. "How long have you been on Sabaody?"

Sanji looked at his watch. "Less that two hours."

The girl smiled brightly, "In that case, perhaps you would be interested in taking a tour of the island by bus."

"I've only got half an hour now, how long is the tour?"

She shook her head, "Sorry, it's at least two hours."

Sanji shrugged. "Well, when are these tours available? I'd be interested in having one tomorrow morning."

The girl nodded, "Yes, they're available all day. You just hop on at any stop, buy a day ticket, and then you can use the tour bus as frequently as you like all day. So you can go on one full tour around the city and then get off on the attraction which you want to visit. Then you can get get back on a bus and go to another attraction."

"Really? That sounds really useful. Where's the nearest stop?"

She pointed to the other end of the harbour. "That's the stop for Sabaody Harbour. Trust me, this is a good place to start a tour too. Would you like a leaflet?"

Sanji nodded, "Yeah, thanks."

"Hey Sanji!" Luffy shouted, running up to the two, Usopp and Chopper close behind him. "Can we go to the aquarium? Oh hey, who are you?"

"I was just telling your friend about our city tours."

"Oh, cool," Luffy nodded, before turning to Sanji. "So can we?"

Sanji frowned. "What aquarium?"

"The old man at the stall said there's an aquarium," Luffy replied enthusiatically.

The girl nodded, "Yeah, it's at the other end of the harbour. There's an underwater tunnel as well, so you can see what the sea around the island is like too."

"Really?" Chopper squealed. Sanji nodded.

"That sounds pretty cool, but we don't have enough time. Remember we have to meet Kuina for dinner tonight. We should get back to the hotel."

"Damn," Luffy grumbled, "You know, if you hadn't wasted time at the hotel talking to... that person, we would have been able to go to the underwater tunnel!"

Sanji rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well, you'll just have to wait for tomorrow. Maybe."

######

Zoro yawned loudly as he woke up. For a second he frowned, the surroundings seeming alien to him, before he recognised the hotel room and remembered the events just before he fell asleep. "Where's the love cook gone?" he said to himself. He then caught sight of the note on the table. He picked it up.

_I see sleeping beauty finally woke up. Gone out with Luffy, Usopp and Chopper. Don't follow us, you'll get lost._

Zoro growled and ripped the note up, tossing the remains in the bin. "Geez, those jerks. Going out and leaving me here." He looked at the time on the clock on the bedside table. 20:50.

He yawned once, before digging into his bag. Like Sanji, he decided to get changed, putting on a t-shirt and shorts, before venturing out of the hotel room. He picked up the room key which Sanji had left under the note, before leaving the room, deciding to go to Robin's room.

When Zoro reached the third floor, he was surprised to see Ace, Garp, Franky, and Brook waiting in the corridor.

"What, time to go already?" he casually asked as he approached the four.

Ace nodded. "Yeah. Where are the others?"

"Pervert Chef and the others went out. They'll probably be on their way back now though."

"Why didn't you go?" Franky asked.

Zoro yawned. "Those jerks left while I was taking a nap."

The door then opened, and Nami and Robin came out. Nami was wearing a t-shirt, with the word 'Evil' on it, whilst Robin had a tank top on.

Zoro made his way to Robin. "Looking good babe..."

Robin smiled, glad that Zoro was back to normal, "You're not looking too bad yourself." He put his arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head.

"See, why can't Luffy ever do that?" Nami whined. Franky laughed.

"Because he's Luffy."

"Where are they?" Robin asked.

"They've gone out," Zoro answered.

Nami frowned. "On their own? Oh boy..."

Ace looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it. The last time we left those four, plus Zoro, alone, they nearly missed their flight. Can we really trust them, alone, on a new island?"

Ace nodded. "When you put it like that... Yeah, I'm actually getting worried."

"Damn," Nami groaned, "I don't want to have to go out and look for them."

######

"Guess you were wrong," Zoro smirked, brushing past Nami as they got out of the elevator on the ground floor. Sure enough, Luffy, Sanji, Usopp and Chopper, were there, waiting for them. Sanji was showing Chopper the leaflet about the bus tour he had gotten from the girl on the harbour, whilst Luffy and Usopp were looking on, Usopp looking vaguely interested, Luffy looking bored out of his skull.

"Hey Nami!" Sanji called, when he saw her, "I got a map and some leaflets about places to go on Sabaody. I've planned what we can do tomorrow as well, if that's OK?"

"They've even planned ahead...?" Nami trailed off, unable to believe what was happening.

The second elevator then stopped and Kuina came out, smiling when she saw everyone. "Oh wow. I timed that perfectly."

"Where are your parents?" Garp asked.

"They went to dinner earlier. Apparently the restaurant fills up fast, so we should probably get a move on too."

Shakky overheard this and frowned. "Are you planning on going to the hotel's restaurant?"

"Yeah..." Ace answered uneasily, not liking where this was going.

"I'm very sorry, but we're full at the moment. If you want, I can reserve you a table for tomorrow now-"

Ace sighed and waved his hand dismissively, "It's fine, don't worry about it."

"So what are we doing now?" Usopp asked.

Sanji perked up. "We could go down to the harbour!"

Shakky nodded, "Yes, that's a great idea. Did you go down there before?"

"Yeah," Sanji smirked, "I spoke to one of the waiters there and he said that the restaurants aren't usually filled up there because there are so many of them around there. They serve really good seafood as well. We should definitely head there."

Luffy jumped up, "Yeah, food time!"

######

Robin sighed sadly. The walk to the harbour, which was only about ten minutes, had been pretty loud as usual, with Luffy making most of the noise. It was a pretty nice evening. It was cooler than it had been when they had arrived in late afternoon, but it was still pretty warm. The sky was still fairly light, although it did seem to be getting darker.

But Zoro on the other hand, had relapsed back to airport mood. He didn't say a word to her the whole way there. When they had set off originally, they had been holding hands, but somewhere along the way, Zoro had slipped his hand out of hers. Chopper, noticing that Robin looked upset, smiled and walked over to her.

"Hey Robin!" he brightly greeted.

Robin put on a warm smile, "Hi Chopper. So what did you and the others get up to earlier?"

"We went to the harbour. It's so cool! And there's an aquarium with an underwater tunnel there as well, I really want to see that!"

"Really, an underwater tunnel?"

Nami, who had been chatting with Kuina, smiled at Chopper cheering Robin up. Kuina raised an eyebrow. "Whats up?" she asked.

Nami shook her head, "Nothing." She then eyed Zoro who was now walking alone, a hollow expression on his face, like he wasn't really there.

"Wow, this is actually pretty cool," Franky said, impressed, as Sanji led the group through the harbour.

"Yeah, you should have seen it before, it was completely packed. I want to see what it looks like in the afternoon," Sanji replied, looking around the harbour, trying to find the specific restaurant that he had picked out earlier. Suddenly he pointed at one, smirking triumphantly. "Ah, its that one!"

Luffy's eyes lit up and he ran ahead of Sanji. Ace grabbed the back of his shirt, yanking him back. "Relax. The food isn't going to run away."

Kuina laughed. "Man you guys haven't changed at all, have you?"

"Hey! Remember me?" Sanji cheerfully greeted the waiter at the front of the restaurant.

"Of course!" He nervously eyed the group. "I didn't realise there were so many of you. I can't seat all of you on one table, but I can seat you all two adjacent tables. I'm sorry."

Ace shook his head dismissively, "Nah, that's fine. Thank you very much."

The waiter nodded. "Would you like to sit outside or inside?"

"I think we should let our guest decide," Garp said, turning to Kuina.

"Aww, thank you! Um...I'd prefer outside. It's such a nice evening."

"As you wish," the waiter nodded. He led the group into the outside seated area, which had a canopy over it. He took them all the way to the far side of the seating as there were a couple of free 6 seater tables, with a seat of the top and bottom of table, and two on each side. Kuina sat on the side of one, and Robin sat on the side of another one. Zoro thought for a second, remembering what Nami had said in the taxi on the way to the hotel. He sighed and sat next to Kuina. He didn't bother looking at Robin, and so missed the hurt expression on her face.

Chopper however didn't miss this, and sat next to Robin, making it his sole aim this evening to keep her happy. Sanji eyed Zoro suspiciously, before sitting on the end of Robin's table, with Franky and Brook sitting opposite her and Usopp at the other end of table to Sanji. Luffy and Nami sat opposite Zoro and Kuina, whilst Ace and Garp sat on either end of the table.

For the whole seating process, everyone had been silent, sensing the tension between Robin, Zoro and Kuina. Only Zoro and Luffy had missed this tension, both not understanding the significance of Zoro's choice of seating.

"So..." Ace began, the first to break the awkward silence, "What are we thinking in terms of tomorrow?"

"We can get a city tour from around here by bus. It's pretty cheap, 10 beri per person," Sanji answered, fishing around in his pocket for the leaflet.

"What's beri?" Chopper asked.

"Its the currency in Sabaody. Its pretty much the same as dollars."

The waiter then arrived and took everyone's orders, one by one. It was a lengthy process, and by the end, the waiter looked a little stunned. He stumbled back inside the restaurant, leaving the group alone again.

"So Kuina," Nami smiled, "We said we were going to use dinner to catch up, so..."

Kuina shook her head. "I want to hear about you guys first." She then turned to Zoro. "So tell me, what have you been up to for the last year and a bit?"

Zoro shrugged. "Nothing special."

Sanji stared at him in disbelief. "Nothing special? Really Moss brain?"

"What about the Arlong incident?" Usopp offered.

Kuina snorted. "What, he's still around? Would have thought that bully would have got what he deserved sooner or later."

Nami smiled, taking Luffy's hand. "He did. Courtesy of Luffy." Luffy grinned childishly and pressed his lips against Nami's.

Kuina's eyes widened and she turned to Zoro. Zoro chuckled at her expression. "Yeah, they're together. Luffy saved Nami from Arlong, and kicked his ass in the process. He and his cronies then got expelled. Well, apart from Hachi."

"And then there was that Hordy jerk," Sanji spat out, unable to hide disgust in his voice.

Nami nodded. "That guy was evil. Trying to frame Robin and get her expelled! I mean seriously, what did she ever do to him!?"

"Huh? Frame? What did he do?" Kuina asked.

"He stole a trophy from the school and hid it in Robin's locker," Franky explained.

Luffy grinned. "It was only because of Smokey that we were able to prove it was him all along."

"Don't forget Mr Clown too," Usopp added. Luffy laughed at the mention of his name. Nami glared at him.

"Really? After all that happened, you still laugh?"

"What did he do?" Kuina asked.

"Distributing drugs in school, the usual stuff," Zoro said casually as he sipped his water.

"He got everyone," Nami sighed, "Zoro, Sanji, even Luffy!"

"It was Law that caught that guy eventually, wasn't it." Chopper smiled.

Brook nodded. "Well yes, but it was all because of Robin. She was the one that managed to convince him to do the right thing."

"Don't forget Kid either," Nami added,"If he wasn't there, who knows what would have happened to us..."

"And then there were those Ohara jerks!" Luffy spat out, still unable to hide his rage even after all this time. "Those jerks... Making Robin cry like that..."

"They got what they deserved," Usopp smirked, "Right Zoro? Didn't you beat the crap out of like three of them?"

Zoro laughed. "Something like that, yeah."

"Don't forget Crocodile," Ace grimly said, sitting up, finally offering his first contribution.

Kuina laughed. "What, someone else? What did this guy do?"

Everyone looked serious. For the first time, Robin spoke. "He's my father. He kidnapped and tried to kill me."

Kuina's smile immediately dissappeared. "Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't realise..."

"It's fine," Nami waved off, "You didn't know. Besides, Ace and Luffy caught that guy and Zoro saved Robin. All happily ever after!"

Kuina nodded and turned to Zoro. She punched him in the arm, Zoro grunting slightly in pain. "What was that for?"

"'Nothing special'? Seriously?"

Zoro folded his arms, leaning back in his chair. "Yeah... Well... I thought it would take too long to fill you in on all the details."

"OK. We went. Now it's your turn," Nami smiled, winking at the end.

Kuina shrugged. "My life isn't anywhere near as exciting as yours. Started at a new school. Made some friends. Blah blah blah..."

"Did you..." Zoro began, eyes fixed on the table, "Meet anyone?"

Kuina looked straight at Zoro. "Nope. Never." Zoro gulped. All around the table, everyone, bar Luffy, was exchanging nervous glances. Robin just stared at her water.

Luckily, just then, the waiter arrived with the food. needing to take three trips to get it all.

######

After that, dinner progressed less awkwardly, with the two tables splitting away from each other. On Zoro's table, Kuina was cheerfully babbling on about old times, whilst Zoro seemed to be quietly eating his dinner. Occasionally, she would ask for his input on something, but for the most part, Zoro was pretty quiet.

Robin eyed the two out of the corner of her eye. She knew she shouldn't feel the way she did. It should be OK for Zoro to talk about old times with his ex-girlfriend, right? Plus, he didn't seem to be enjoying himself. But there was something about Kuina which she didn't like...

"-What do you think Robin?" Sanji asked, pulling Robin away from her thoughts.

"Sorry, what?" Robin smiled sheepishly. She hadn't been paying attention at all.

"I was just talking about the old town. It's meant to have lots of historic sites and there's even a palace there. I was saying how we really do have to take a day or two out to explore it, don't you think?"

Robin nodded. "Yeah, It definitely sounds interesting."

Usopp frowned, before suddenly grinning. "Wait! Better idea. We can all go do something fun while you and Robin go visit that old boring museum thing."

Sanji frowned. "Come on guys. Its a palace! It's where the infamous Celestial Dragons used to live! Doesn't that sound like it could be cool!"

Usopp just stared at Sanji like he had three heads. "No."

######

"You're going where?" Zoro asked Kuina.

"Spa Island. Me and my parents are going tomorrow. Its an island close to here. Its half an hour by boat and its meant to be really relaxing. Obviously its a spa, but there are also shops and stuff like that."

"Sounds fun."

"Do you want to come? I'm sure mom and dad would be happy for you to come along," Kuina smiled.

"I don't know... I mean, I'm here with my friends, so..."

Nami shrugged. "Its just a day. We've got another nine of them. Besides, its been a while since you and Kuina have seen each other. Don't you want to spend time with her?"

"Um, yeah I guess..." Zoro weakly said.

Kuina smiled, "Great! Dad will be glad, he always liked you!" She then pulled Zoro into a tight hug, Zoro now looking extremely uncomfortable.

From the other table, Robin looked on nervously, stabbing her knife into her food. _"Is it really OK for them to be this close?"_

Chopper noticed this. "Hey Robin..." She didn't respond. It was then that he noticed that everyone on their table was eyeing Robin nervously, sensing what she was thinking.

Franky sighed in relief when he saw the waiter approach their table. "Hey, desert's here!"

Luffy's head jerked up and his eyes lit up when the waiter reached the table. Nami groaned. "Haven't you had enough to eat today?"

Luffy grinned, shaking his head. "When you eat, you always have to eat as much as you can because..."

Garp laughed, finishing it off for Luffy. "You never know when your next meal will be!"

Nami glared at the two. "What kind of a stupid philosophy is that?"

Kuina laughed too. "Man, you haven't changed at all. I've really missed this!"

######

Kuina smiled, getting up. Zoro frowned. "What are you doing?"

"I think I'm gonna go for a walk in the harbour. Do you want to join me?"

Zoro didn't look enthusiastic. "Its getting late, and its dark now..."

Kuina raised an eyebrow. "Jeez, when did you become such an old man?"

Zoro narrowed his eyes. "Old man?"

Kuina winked cheekily. "You used to be such a free spirit! You've definitely changed!"

Zoro slumped down in his chair, glaring at Kuina. "I'm not an old man. But I really can't be bothered..."

"Jeez, you're so lazy..." Nami muttered. Zoro shifted his glare from Kuina to her.

"Go with her," Garp said, authority in his voice. "It'll be safer for her if you're with her."

Zoro sighed, reluctantly getting up from the table. "Whatever."

As they left, Nami called after Zoro. "Make sure you stick close to Kuina. We can't have you getting lost on a huge foreign Island!"

Zoro turned around to glare at her before Kuina grabbed his hand and yanked him forwards, pointing at something in the distance.

######

"Oh, can we go to the aquarium now?" Luffy eagerly asked as Ace finally finished paying the waiter. Nami shook her head.

"Its 11. It'll be closed."

Chopper yawned. Robin smiled sympathetically at him. "Maybe we should head back now?"

Garp nodded. "I think that would be a good idea. Does anyone, apart from Luffy, have any objections?"

Luffy frowned. "Hey, why apart from-"

Nami cut him off. "Nope."

"Maybe we should wait for Zoro and Kuina." Usopp suggested.

Ace turned to Garp. "They'll be fine... right?"

Garp thought for a second. "Um... yeah, they should be. Maybe someone should stay behind here though... Just in case."

No one volunteered. Garp looked at Ace. "What, me? Fine, I guess I am the only fit adult here..." Ace cheekily smiled.

Garp glared at him. "What do you mean fit, brat?"

Ace patted Garp on the shoulder. "You're getting old Gramps..."

"If we weren't in public right now, I'd beat the shit out of you..." Garp threatened.

"Anyway," Nami interrupted, not really wanting to cause a scene. "If that's settled, we should probably get going now."

######

"So Zoro..." Kuina began, leading Zoro through the nearly deserted harbour. "How long have you and Robin been together?"

Zoro shrugged. "I dunno. A few months or something like that."

Kuina nodded. "I see. Are you two close?" Zoro stopped. Kuina frowned and turned around. "What?"

"Where are you going with this?"

"What? I just want to know more about your girlfriend. Is that not natural?"

Zoro sighed, and started walking again, catching up with Kuina. "Yes, we're close."

"Are you... as close...," Kuina unsurely began, not sure about how to say what she wanted to. She slyly edged closer to Zoro, brushing against his side. "As we were...?"

Zoro frowned, moving away from Kuina. "Seriously, where are you going with this?"

Kuina looked away. "You know what, doesn't matter. I shouldn't have asked that, sorry."

Zoro sighed, feeling bad about snapping at her. "Don't worry about it," he mumbled.

The two walked in awkward silence for a couple of minutes, before Kuina suddenly grinned. "Hey Zoro, how long do you think that part we just walked is?"

Zoro frowned. "What? How would I know-"

"Maybe, I don't know, 800m?"

Zoro smirked. "Oh?" He glanced back. "You know what, it might just be that."

"You never were able to beat me..." Kuina taunted.

Zoro's expression hardened. "Things have changed. I'm stronger now."

"Oh? Prove it."

Zoro grinned. He turned around and assumed the starting position. "On your marks..."

Kuina followed in his example. "Get set..."

"GO!" they both shouted together and set off at top speed. Kuina smirked, taking an early lead. However, right at the end, Zoro sped past her. Kuina gasped, and quickened her pace, but couldn't catch up. Zoro had won.

Zoro smirked victoriously. "Just like our first race... but the other way round."

Kuina panted, out of breath, before punching Zoro lightly in the chest. "Man, you really have gotten better..."

Zoro held his hand out, smiling. "So have you. I didn't think you'd put up so much of a fight. Good race."

######

"Oh? Zoro and Kuina back then?" Garp yawned as Ace entered their room. The TV was on on some soccer highlights, but Garp wasn't really paying attention. He was reading a book, "Life of Pi".*****

Ace nodded from the front porch, slipping his sandals off. "Yeah. I watched them the whole way. I didn't actually interrupt them though."

"Huh? Why?"

Ace shrugged. "Didn't seem right. They seemed to be enjoying each other's company."

"Oh?" Garp smiled.

Ace shook his head, walking into the main area of the room. "Not like that Gramps." He then paused and frowned. "Actually, now that you mention it, they..."

Ace stopped mid-sentence and stared at Garp. Garp stared back at him. After a couple of seconds, They suddenly burst out laughing.

"Look at us, gossiping like teenage girls!" Garp laughed.

"You were the one that started it Gramps," Ace chuckled, playfully thumping Garp in the arm.

######

Zoro yawned as he entered the hotel room. "Oy Love cook, you still up?"

"Yep," Sanji answered. Like Garp, he was reading too, but he was reading some more leaflets which he had picked up from the hotel lobby when they returned.

Zoro yawned. "Really? Would have thought it would be past your bedtime..."

"Says the guys that spent half of today sleeping..."

"Wha-Half? No way!"

"We slept for like four hours this morning. Then you pretty much slept through the whole seven hour flight. Add that to the hour you spent sleeping here before dinner and... yep, twelve hours."

Zoro growled. "Whatever, I'm off to bed," he snapped, going into the bathroom.

"Case in point..." Sanji muttered to himself. After a couple of minutes, Zoro emerged from the bathroom. He took his shirt off and tossed it at the wardrobe, it landing just next to it.

"Oy," Sanji warned from the bed, "Pick that up. I don't want this place to turn into a dump after not even one night."

Zoro yawned. "I'll do it in the morning." He fished around in his bag, before pulling out a white cotton t-shirt. He slid it on over his top half and jumped onto the bed, causing it to shake violently.

"Woah," Sanji exclaimed, holding onto the side of the bed to steady himself. "Be careful Moss-head!"

Zoro rolled his eyes and slipped under the sheets. "Whatever Eyebrow. Night."

"Night," Sanji muttered, getting up and deciding to sit at the table. He glanced at the clock. 00:30. "I should get to bed soon too anyway..." he mumbled to himself.

***I watched the film the other day, it was just on my mind really.**

**So, how was it? Please tell me you liked it... **

**As always, if you can, leave a review! They're really nice to read for me!**


	8. Hachi's restaurant

**Great response to the last chapter as always. Also nice to see that some people maybe reread One Piece High School because of it. Thanks Princess Orlaith for 'Sancock', can't believe I never thought of that XDXDXD. Speaking of which, I really miss them :(. When Luffy and the guys return from Sabaody, I definitely need to write more about them. **

**Ah well, I'll deal with that later. Really hope you like this chapter!**

RING RING!

Luffy moaned. He yanked his pillow from under his head and tried to use it to cover his ears.

"Luffy..." Usopp mumbled from the other side of the bed, "The phone..."

Luffy moaned again. "five more minutes..."

"Luffy..." Chopper muttered, half asleep. "Please stop it..."

Luffy moaned louder and yanked the phone off the hook, stopping the ringing.

"Hello..." he tiredly groaned.

"Wake up call," Shakky's voice answered.

Luffy glanced at the clock. "7:30?"

"This was the time that your grandfather arranged. I'm sorry."

Luffy tiredly shook his head. "Nah... no problem. Thanks." He hung up then lay back down.

"What was it?" Usopp yawned.

"Wake up call," Luffy answered, his eyes closing. Usopp's eyes shot open.

"Wake up call! We should get going!"

Luffy shook his head. "Nah, it'll be fine..."

Usopp sighed. "Whatever, we'll get ready and then we'll wake you. Come on Chopper!"

Chopper tiredly sat up and went to his bag, whilst Usopp jumped into the bathroom.

######

"Are you sure Gramps? Shouldn't we check up on the others?" Ace asked as he picked up his rucksack and closed their room door, the two standing in the corridor fully dressed and equipped, the first to get ready out of all the rooms.

Garp shrugged. "I'm sure they can handle getting dressed, right? Besides, we'll meet them downstairs at breakfast anyway."

Ace nodded slowly. "But what about Luffy? Usually when we go on vacation, he always has us on his back. Do you think he'll get ready on his own?"

Garp shrugged. "Dunno. We'll see. He's the one who'll miss his breakfast, not our problem."

######

"I though I told you to get up!" Sanji grunted, digging his heel into Zoro's cheek.

"Ow... OW! Stop that!" Zoro snapped, finally sitting up in bed. When Sanji had answered the wake up call at 7:30, he had immediately got up. He went to get dressed, telling Zoro that he needed to get up. It was now 7:55 and Zoro hadn't budged an inch. Sanji, meanwhile, was fully dressed.

"Don't treat me like a kid," Zoro growled. "I'm up. Besides, I can handle getting ready without you. If you're done, then buzz off and leave me alone."

Sanji shrugged. "Whatever. I really don't give a shit what happens to you. But don't blame me when you're hungry because you were too late for breakfast and we're not willing to wait for you."

Zoro groaned, at last getting out of bed. "Whatever. Are you going or what?"

Sanji nodded, moving to the door. He picked up his rucksack, and opened the door, stepping outside. "Yeah, yeah... I just hope the others don't blame me for you being late. Oh yeah, and don't forget your key." With that parting shot, he shut the door.

A vein popped on Zoro's head. "As if I'd do something that stupid!"

######

The elevator stopped on the seventh floor. Sanji was joined by Usopp, Chopper, and even Luffy, who was wide awake and grinning.

Sanji blinked and turned to Usopp. "How did you get him up so early?"

Usopp smirked. "How else? I mentioned breakfast."

Sanji rolled his eyes. "Of course. Is there any other way?"

As soon as the elevator reached the ground floor, Luffy jumped out. "Yeah breakfast! I'm soooo hungry!" He blinked, looking around the lobby. "Where is it?"

Shakky, who was at the front desk again, laughed. "Right this way." She led the four through a door next to the entrance, where the restaurant was. Last night, it had been full for dinner, but for breakfast, it was nearly completely empty. Next to the seating area, there was a buffet. There were several stands with different kinds of foods. One had pastries, another had meats, another had fruit etc.

Luffy's eyes lit up, and he immediately shot off towards the buffet. At the back of the large hall, Ace and Garp were sitting down, Garp casually sipping tea, whilst Ace was reading through a newspaper. Ace looked up and smirked at Luffy.

"Well Gramps, looks like we had nothing to worry about."

Garp snorted. "Please, it was you who was doing all the worrying."

Sanji, Usopp and Chopper went to sit down on the four seater table next to theirs. "He should slow down before he hurts himself..." Chopper nervously said, eying Luffy, who looked like he was in heaven.

"Or someone else..." Sanji muttered.

######

By the time Sanji, Usopp and Chopper finally got up to get some food, Luffy was on his way to the table, carrying six plates, each completely loaded with food.

Over the next few minutes, the others began to arrive. Franky and Brook were next to arrive, and sat with Garp and Ace. About five minutes later, Nami and Robin arrived, surprised to be one of the last people to arrive. Last to arrive was Zoro, who made it down ten minutes later, when everyone had finished eating. Zoro yawned as he approached the tables, vaguely aware of the glares everyone was giving him (except for Robin of course).

"Morning babe," he smirked, pecking Robin on the cheek, before setting off for the buffet.

Robin weakly smiled. She still wasn't sure how to act with Zoro. When Kuina was around, he acted distant from her, but when she wasn't there, he was completely normal with her.

Nami frowned at Sanji. "Honestly, couldn't you have got him to wake up earlier?"

Sanji sighed. "See, I knew this was going to happen."

"So what are we going to do today?" Ace smiled widely. "Our first day on Sabaody!"

"Like I said yesterday, I figured we could take a bus tour of the island from the harbour," Sanji said, fishing around in his rucksack for the leaflet. He found it and handed it to Ace. He nodded.

"Cool. Sounds like a plan."

"Hey guys!" Kuina called, entering the breakfast hall.

"Kuina? Hey!" Nami greeted, surprised to see her.

"Is Zoro ready yet?" she eagerly asked.

"Zoro?"

"Yeah! Don't you remember yesterday? He agreed to come to Spa Island with us!"

Light dawned on everyone. "Damn, I completely forgot about that..." Nami muttered. Kuina frowned.

"Oh, did you guys make plans?"

Sanji shook his head. "Nothing we can't do without Zoro. It's OK, he made a commitment to you. He may be a while though..." Kuina looked confused, so Sanji pointed to the buffet where Zoro was still picking his breakfast. Kuina smiled.

"That's fine. I'm more than happy to wait."

Ace smiled, getting up. "That works out well for us. It means we don't have to wait for Zoro."

Sanji glanced at his watch. "It's nearly nine now, it will take us ten minutes to get there, we may have to wait up to an hour for the bus, the tour takes two hours... We should be done by lunchtime."

"We could head down to the beach afterwards. Get a SUPER tan!" Franky suggested.

"Yosh!" Luffy grinned, jumping up. "Lets go to the aquarium!"

Everyone stared at him.

Nami got up too, and thumped him on the head. "Were you even listening to what we were saying..."

######

Luffy stared wistfully at the aquarium on the other side of the harbour. After reaching the harbour, they had been waiting half an hour for the next tour bus to arrive. For that whole half an hour, he had been staring at the aquarium.

"Why are you so desperate to go there anyway?" Nami snapped, beginning to lose her patience.

Luffy blinked. He thought for a second, before shrugging. "Dunno. It seems cool."

"I can see the bus coming!" Usopp shouted, getting everyone's attention.

The bus skidded to a halt in front of them. Seeing as it was only 10 in the morning, the bus was only half full. It was a large double decker, open topped bus. Luckily, the top deck was mostly empty, so everyone was able to get seats there. At the back of the top deck was a small canopy covering the back two rows, so everyone had scrambled to get there. In the end, Garp and Ace sat on one side of the back row, whilst Nami and Robin got the other side. Sanji and Chopper were in front of them, with Franky and Brook sitting opposite them. In the row ahead of them were Luffy and Usopp, not shaded by the canopy, and at the mercy of the intense heat of the Sabaody summer.

Luffy panted. "Fine, we'll sit here for now, but we're switching after ten minutes."

"No," everyone answered defiantly.

Luffy groaned. "No fair!"

"Yeah well, life isn't fair," Ace laughed.

Sanji reached into his rucksack and pulled out a camera. He and Chopper were sitting on the side facing the harbour, and the view from the top deck of the bus was amazing, the whole harbour and ocean in view. He took a couple of pictures, Chopper watching him carefully.

"Sanji... can I try?" Chopper hesitantly asked. Sanji handed him the camera. He held it in place, and squinted. "Um.. Sanji?"

"Yeah?"

"What button do you press again?"

Sanji smiled, and then took the camera. He demonstrated carefully to Chopper how he took a picture. When he was done, Chopper grinned.

"Got it!" Sanji handed him the camera, and he quickly took a picture. He proudly showed it to Sanji. "How is it?"

Sanji put on a smile. The picture was in focus, due to the camera's auto-focus, but it was slightly lopsided. Plus, the harbour wasn't completely captured by the picture, and you could see the edge of the bus at the bottom of the frame. "Its a good start, way better than my first picture. Here, let me show you how to do better next time..."

"What're you reading Robin?" Nami asked, glancing over Robin's shoulder.

"Its a leaflet I found in the hotel lobby. Its about the history of Sabaody Palace, which according to Sanji, is one of the stops on this tour. Its fascinating, there's so much about the life of the Celestial Dragons. I can't wait to see it."

Nami gulped. "A Museum? Um..."

Usopp grinned, turning around to face them. "See! That's what I thought, but Sanji really wants to see it."

Suddenly, the bus driver appeared from the lower deck. He distributed headphones to everyone and pointed to the backs of the seats. "Plug those in there and select your language," he grunted. "You'll hear about the history of Sabaody and its landmarks."

Everyone nodded and did this. The bus driver went back downstairs and the bus quickly started.

######

Luffy yawned as the woman on the recording drawled about the history of Sabaody market. He took the headphones out, and decided to just admire the view. "Man... I'm so hot..."

Suddenly, the bus stopped, just outside of what looked like an amusement park. Luffy could make out rollercoasters and the sound of people screaming from behind a tall gate, which had the words "Sabaody Park" on it. He sat up.

"Hey, whats that?"

Nami frowned. "Its Sabaody Park, an amusement park built in the middle of Sabaody. Are you not listening-"

"Nope," Luffy simply answered, dangling his headphones in front of her.

"This place looks pretty cool," Franky commented. "It reminds me of Water 7 back home."

"We should definitely go here one day," Ace said, everyone nodding in agreement.

The bus then restarted, driving through the crowded streets on the town's centre, before leaving the town altogether, and driving through what looked like the countryside. After a couple of minutes, the commentary resumed.

"Next, we will pass by Sabaody Palace, a former residence of the Celestial Dragons..."

Robin perked up, and scanned her surroundings, the place that interested her most finally coming up. The bus made a sharp right turn, and in front of them, a magnificent looking Palace could be seen. Behind the tall walls surrounding it, several spires could be seen. A large fountain could also be made out in the front courtyard. Nami's jaw literally dropped.

"Wow... That looks amazing."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "I thought museums were boring?"

Nami laughed. "I think this is more than just a museum."

Sanji grinned, turning to Usopp. "Well? Now do you agree that we have to visit here?"

Usopp nodded slowly. "Maybe... Just for one day I guess."

######

"Yay!" Luffy cheered, jumping off the bus onto Sabaody harbour. "Lunchtime!" The bus had gone through the whole island, and the tour had ended where it had began. When they got off, there was a whole crowd of people waiting. Clearly Luffy and the others had got on at a good time, before it got too crowded.

"Should we really have lunch here again?" Nami asked, scanning the harbour.

Luffy's stomach groaned. "Why not? The food was amazing last night!"

Nami nodded. "I know... but I want to have more of a variety."

Sanji unfolded his map. "Its a half an hour walk to the town centre. We could find a restaurant there?"

Usopp shook his head. "I can't be bothered to walk for half an hour in this heat."

Brook chuckled, patting Usopp on the head. "Its not that bad..." Usopp glared at him.

"You guys can't talk, you were in the shade! Me and Luffy had to take the full heat for two whole damn hours!"

"I'm with Sanji," Nami said. "If we go to the town centre, we can have lunch there, and then spend the rest of the day shopping! Sabaody market looks really nice!"

Luffy grinned. "As long as we get food, I'm up for it!"

######

"OK. First, we need to establish some rules," Nami sternly said, facing everyone, but eying Luffy specifically. "No running off alone like you do at home. This is a completely new city and if you run into trouble, it will be much harder to sort out here. Oh, and if anyone does cause any trouble... you'll have me to answer too... Got it?"

Everyone gulped and nodded. Nami smiled sweetly. "Good. Now, first things first, lets find somewhere to eat!"

After wandering through the relatively calm town centre for nearly half an hour, everyone finally agreed on a small restaurant down a sidestreet leading off from one of the main streets. After stopping there for about an hour for lunch, everyone set off in little groups, Nami's 'rules' still fresh in their minds.

######

Nami smiled sweetly at the shopkeeper. "Sorry, how much was that?"

He smiled back. "100 Beri."

"I see. I'll give you 50."

"100."

"50."

"90."

"50."

"75."

"60."

"70."

"Deal!" Nami held her hand out. The shopkeeper unhappily took it. "Pleasure doing business with you."

"Yes miss," he agreed through gritted teeth.

"He seemed unhappy," Robin said, as she and Nami left the shop afterwards. Nami shrugged.

"His fault for charging such unreasonable prices."

Luffy, who had been waiting outside, glared at Nami. "Well? Are you done now?"

Nami shook her head. "No. I still want to go to a few more shops. Here." She handed the bag from that shop to Luffy, who was already carrying 5 of her bags.

"Aww, Why didn't you let me go with Usopp, Chopper and Sanji?" Luffy whined.

Nami shook her head. "Because that group is a recipe for disaster."

Luffy opened his mouth to complain again, but stopped. He frowned and breathed in deeply, before grinning widely. "That smells good!" He looked around, before running off in in the direction of the smell.

Nami and Robin looked at each other, before following Luffy. He darted out of the busy town centre into a sidestreet.

######

"Hachi!?"

Hachi's eyes widened. "Oh, Nami! And Luffy and Robin! Hello, and welcome to my restaurant!"

Luffy's eyes twinkled as he excitedly looked around the restaurant. "It smells so good! I didn't know you cooked!"

Hachi nodded. "Yes, cooking is my hobby, and running this restaurant for Mr Rayleigh is my summer job." He then turned to kitchen. "Hey Keimi! Look who's here!"

Keimi emerged from the kitchen, and smiled widely when she saw Luffy, Nami and Robin. She put some takoyaki in front of Luffy. "Guys! Hey! I didn't know you were in Sabaody!"

Nami laughed, hugging Keimi. "We didn't know you guys were here either!"

Robin turned to Hachi. "Who's Mr Rayleigh?"

"He owns the restaurant. He's also the owner of the Sabaody Grove hotel too, I think..."

Luffy smiled. "Really? That's where we're staying!"

"Really? That's great. I work there in the evenings!"

Suddenly, the door to the restaurant swung open. A large man, with an abnormally wide jawline strolled in, several men behind him.

"Hey Hachi," he grunted, "food!" He then looked at Keimi, and smiled widely. "Hey beautiful. Looking good as always."

Keimi frowned, but nodded politely, and followed Hachi into the kitchen. Nami eyed the new customer worriedly, before turning to Luffy. "Hey, I don't like this guy..."

Luffy shrugged, and continued chewing the takoyaki, choosing to ignore the new customers. Keimi then emerged from the kitchen, carrying a couple of plates of food. She placed them down in front of the men. "Here you go Macro."

Macro grinned. "Thanks beautiful." Keimi turned around, but he put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "Where do you think you're going? Your boyfriends in the kitchen... so we're alone at last."

Keimi struggled. "Please let go of me..."

Nami glared at them, but Macro laughed. "What you looking at? Actually, come to think of it, you're pretty hot too... and so's your friend!" He looked at Luffy. "Hey buddy! Nice job!"

Luffy stood up, forcefully kicking his chair under the table. He calmly strolled up to Macro, who smirked as he approached. "Oh, the kid's got fire. Whatever, This won't be too hard..." He swung his fist, but Luffy easily caught it, squeezing hard. Macro tried to pull it back, but he couldn't. Luffy's grip was too strong. He began to cry out in pain. Just then, Hachi emerged from the kitchen, hearing Macro's cries. He quickly read what was going on, and was immediately at Luffy's side.

"It's fine Straw Hat, I'll deal with these guys," he said, patting Luffy on the shoulder. Luffy released Macro's fist, him falling to the ground. Hachi picked him up by the shirt and literally threw him out of the restaurant. "Get out of here! Never come back again!" Macro's men followed suit, hurriedly stumbling out of the restaurant before they too faced Hachi's wrath.

Hachi's expression then softened, and he hugged Keimi. "I'm so sorry Keimi..."

Keimi smiled. "Its fine, Luffy saved me."

Luffy grinned widely. "No problem. That jerk was pissing me off."

"Who was that?" Nami asked.

"Macro. He's a local here, and he and his gang act like they own the place," Hachi explained. "He really is a jerk, but as he was always a paying customer, I've always served him." He turned to Keimi. "If that guy ever comes near you again, you come straight to me, got it?"

Keimi nodded. "Got it!"

Hachi then turned to Luffy. "Thank you so much Straw Hat. How about another serving of Takoyaki? This one's on the house!"

Luffy's mouth watered. "Really? Thanks!"

######

"A kid?"

Macro fell to his knees, bowing in front of the giant man before him. "I know what you're thinking, but that Straw Hat kid is a monster!" He turned around and looked expectantly at one of his men.

"Its true! He blocked one of the boss' punches like it was nothing. He's even stronger than Hachi!"

The man raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? A Straw Hat huh..."

**I have a feeling some of you will be upset that there's not much about Zoro, Kuina and Robin in this chapter, but that is coming in the next chapter. Promise. Maybe. **

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please leave a review if you can. **


	9. Zoro and girls

**I have a feeling you guys are going to love me after this...**

Zoro looked around, scanning the area. "Where did everyone go?" The tables which had been occupied at breakfast by his friends were now empty. Breakfast seemed to be filling up now with the other guests, but his friends were nowhere to be seen. Well, all but one of them...

Kuina snuck up behind him and giggled as she poked him playfully on the back.

"What.." He growled irritably, turning around. He blinked when he saw Kuina, honestly expecting Luffy or Usopp. "Huh? What are you doing here?"

She rolled her eyes. "I see you've forgotten our plans from last night already..."

"What plans?"

"Spa Island."

Zoro blinked. Kuina sighed.

"You agreed to come with me and my parents to Spa Island."

Zoro blinked again, scratching his head. "I did?" He thought for a second before realisation finally dawned on him.

######

_"Do you want to come? I'm sure mom and dad would be happy for you to come along," Kuina smiled._

_"I don't know... I mean, I'm here with my friends, so..."_

_Nami shrugged. "Its just a day. We've got another nine of them. Besides, its been a while since you and Kuina have seen each other. Don't you want to spend time with her?"_

_"Um, yeah I guess..." Zoro weakly said._

######

Zoro sighed._ "Damn Nami, pressuring me into this..."_ "Oh yeah I remember..."

Kuina smiled. "Good. Shall we?"

Zoro looked around. "Where are your parents?"

Kuina shrugged. "I dunno. But they said they'll meet us at the harbour at 10ish."

Zoro slowly nodded, before Kuina grabbed his hand and began to drag him away. Zoro frowned. "Hey, let go!"

Kuina pouted playfully, slowly releasing his hand. Zoro looked completely unfazed. She looked curiously at him. "Are you OK?"

"Um... Yeah. Why?"

"Its just... you've been acting kind of uptight. Apart from our race..."

"No, its not that," Zoro answered, looking straight at Kuina. "Its just..."

Kuina looked expectantly at him. "Just what?" she prompted.

"Its not the same as it was before," Zoro seriously answered, walking past Kuina.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Zoro didn't answer, and continued walking, not even waiting for Kuina. She sighed inwardly. _"Damn. Just how close are Zoro and this Robin girl... This isn't going to be easy"_

######

Zoro yawned lazily. Spa Island had been exactly what he had expected. Boring. After the original buzz of arriving and checking out the complex, Zoro quickly realised that this island was more suited for adults who were in desperate need of relaxation than for teenagers who wanted to do something exciting and adventurous.

So he had decided to leave the spa complex and take a walk around the rest of the island. And given his kind of dodgy sense of direction, Kuina had insisted on accompanying him, something which made Zoro more than a little nervous.

Last night, after he had returned to the hotel, he had replayed the evening in his mind and realised a few errors he had made. The first was ignoring Robin on the way to the restaurant. The second was ignoring Robin at the restaurant. The third was going off with Kuina after dinner, but Zoro didn't feel as bad about this one. It wasn't like he really had the option to say no.

Basically, he had messed up a lot last night and needed to straighten things out. He had gone to breakfast that morning with his sole aim for the day being to give Robin all of his undivided attention and so make up for the way he treated her last night.

Instead, he had been dragged to this boring Island by Kuina. Its not like he didn't like Kuina or anything, its just that he didn't want her to keep treating him like this. They weren't going out anymore, so, in his mind, there was no reason for her to just want to spend time alone with him. He definitely didn't like that he had spent more time with her than he had with Robin since arriving at Sabaody. He always thought it was meant to be awkward to be around an ex, but Kuina seemed to love it.

Kuina frowned at Zoro as they strolled along the island coastline. The beach wasn't as beautiful as the Sabaody beaches, but it was still fairly nice, and a lot less crowded. It had more of a peaceful feel to it. Not that Zoro even noticed. Every time Kuina stopped to enjoy the breeze or admire the view, Zoro just kept on walking, forcing Kuina to too.

"Jeez, this reminds me of when we first started going out..." Kuina muttered, more to herself than to Zoro. He heard her, but didn't bother responding. "I sense you're not having fun?"

Zoro shrugged, his back still to her. "No, I'm fine."

The two walked for a bit more before Kuina stopped, glaring at the back of Zoro's head. Zoro kept walking. When he realised that Kuina wasn't going to follow he stopped. "Thats it, lets head back," Kuina said, turning around.

Zoro blinked and turned around too. "What?"

"Lets go back to Sabaody. You're not having fun. I'm not having fun. This was all a big mistake."

Zoro groaned. _"Why does she have to make this so difficult?"_. "Damn... you're so troublesome..." Kuina's glare intensified.

"Whatever. Lets get back to the port and take the boat back."

"What about your parents?"

Kuina shrugged. "I dunno, they'll hire another boat or something."

Zoro sighed. "Why is this so hard..." he muttered to himself. "Its fine. Lets go back to the spa," He walked past her, back in the direction of the spa. She looked on uncertainly, but eventually followed after him.

######

Zoro groaned. It had been a long afternoon for him. After returning to the spa, he had found a tanning bed by one of the swimming pools on the complex's top level. He had killed most of the afternoon by taking a nap, but he had just woken up and was now passing the time by literally staring up at the sky.

"Stay away from me freak," Kuina's voice sharply said. Zoro blinked and looked around. Kuina was standing at the side of the pool, glaring at a rather shaken looking man.

"B-but..." he stuttered.

"Not. Interested."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. Maybe if he found Kuina a new boyfriend, she wouldn't want to spend as much time with him and he'd be able to spend more time with Robin. He grinned and got up, walking over to the guy, who was now sulking by the edge of the pool, still staring wistfully at Kuina.

"Yo," Zoro greeted, crouching down next to him.

"huh... Oh, hey dude."

Zoro nudged him. "You know... if you want, I could help you with her. She's a friend of mine,"

The man's eyes widened. "Really? You'd do that for me?"

Zoro shrugged, trying to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal. "Sure, why not? I'm Zoro by the way."

The man smiled and held his hand out to Zoro. "I'm Yosaku."

Zoro didn't bother taking it. He stood up fully and made his way over to Kuina. "Hey," he greeted, adding a smile at the end for good measure.

Kuina smiled brightly, no longer angry at him and glad that he was actually the one trying to talk to her. It seemed to her like he was actually making an effort. "Oh, hey."

Zoro opened his mouth, then paused. In theory, the idea of getting Kuina to like this guy had seemed attractive, but he hadn't really thought about how to do it. He gestured to Yosaku, who was staring hopefully at the two from the other side of the pool. "So... what do you think about that guy?"

She frowned. "He's a weirdo."

Zoro scratched his head. "I dunno, he seems kind of... cool."

Kuina sighed. "Zoro, did he put you up to this?"

Zoro over-dramatically shook his head. "What? No, why would you say that? I just really think that guy-"

She glared at him. "Seriously? Jeez, when did you become such a jerk? I don't need you setting me up with some random weirdo, got it?"

Zoro opened his mouth to answer, but Kuina pushed past him. Yosaku saw this and jogged up to Zoro, grinning widely. "Well?"

Zoro stared at him in disbelief. "Seriously?"

He frowned, confused. "What?"

######

"Hey guys, how was Spa-" Sanji brightly greeted as Kuina stormed into the hotel lobby, Zoro awkwardly following her. She hadn't said a word to him for the rest of the afternoon, nor on the way back.

"Horrible," Kuina snapped, immediately jumping in the elevator, not waiting for her parents who entered the lobby just after Zoro, both looking completely confused.

Everyone stared at Zoro. It was now late afternoon and after returning back from the day, not even ten minutes ago, everyone had been waiting in the lobby for Zoro to return too. Kuina's dad looked awkwardly at Zoro, Kuina's mother immediately rushing after her daughter.

"Um..."

Zoro sighed, shuffling his feet nervously. "I'm sorry." Kuina's father nodded slowly.

"No... its fine. I'll go talk to her."

When Kuina's parents had gone, Nami immediately turned angrily on Zoro. "What's going on? What did you do?"

Zoro stared hopelessly at her, wanting for someone to show him some sympathy. "Long story." He turned to Robin. "Hey, can I talk to you alone?"

Robin blinked. "Um sure." Zoro then led her outside, leaving everyone else looking confused.

"Listen Robin, I'm sorry about everything," Zoro immediately said as soon as they were outside.

Robin just looked at him, pretending to be confused. Zoro sighed.

"Its fine, don't act like nothing's wrong. I've been ignoring you."

Robin nodded slowly, but didn't say anything. Zoro inwardly groaned. "_Why were girls so confusing?"_

Robin smiled lightly at Zoro's annoyed expression. "Its fine, I understand how you must feel. It must be difficult having to balance spending time with her with spending time with me..." she sweetly said with a bitter edge to her voice.

Ouch. Zoro sighed. "Look, its not like I wanted to spend today with her..."

"But you did."

"Yeah, but its because of Nami! She forced me to."

"What about last night?"

"I didn't want to hurt her feelings!"

"What about mine?"

Zoro felt a sinking feeling at those words. Only Robin could make him feel like that. He stared straight at her. Robin turned around, but Zoro grabbed her wrist, stopping her from walking away. "You're right. I screwed up, didn't I?"

Robin nodded. Zoro chuckled. "Man... I'm so stupid. I'm sorry. Can you give me a second chance?"

A smile tugged on Robin's lips. "Maybe..."

Zoro smirked, spinning her around and pulling her close. "How can I make it up to you...?"

Robin giggled. "I can think of several ways."

Zoro pecked Robin on the lips. "How about a walk in the harbour? Would that do?"

"Its a start..." Zoro smirked and put his arm around Robin's waist. They were about to set off, when Robin stopped.

"Wait, what about the others? And Kuina?"

Zoro sighed and stared longingly towards the harbour. He groaned and turned back towards the hotel. "Fine, but after we're done with that, then you owe me that walk."

######

"You did what?" Nami gawked.

Zoro rolled his eyes. "I tried to help the poor guy. What's wrong with that?"

After Zoro had made up with Robin, the two had gone back into the lobby, and Zoro had told the others about the whole Yosaku incident.

Robin put her hand on Zoro's arm supportively. Whilst she did feel kind of sorry for Kuina, she was more relieved to see that Zoro genuinely didn't have romantic feelings for Kuina any more.

Nami shook her head. "You're so... gah! You know nothing about women!"

"Hey! Thats not-" Zoro argued, but was cut off by Nami.

"No, you don't. No wonder she's so angry with you!"

Zoro sighed. "All I thought was that if I find her someone to spend time with..."

"She'd stop spending time with you?" Nami finished, giving Zoro an icy glare at the end.

"Well when you put it like that..."

Sanji took this chance to weigh in. "To be fair, I understand where Moss-head's coming from..."

Usopp nodded. "But it still seems harsh on Kuina."

Luffy raised his hand. Zoro looked at him. "What?"

"Why don't you tell her how you feel?"

"Because I don't want to offend her."

Nami laughed. "Please, you've already done more than that."

Sanji nodded. "Just explain to her why you did what you did. Kuina's reasonable, she'll understand."

Zoro sighed and got up. "Whatever," he grumbled, slowly trudging over to the elevator. He shoved his hands into his pockets. "Worst. Vacation. Ever."

######

"What do you want?" Kuina spat out, having opened her room door. Zoro winced.

"Can I come in?"

"Depends? Are you going to show me potential dates or something?"

Zoro winced again. "Um... no. I just wanted to apologise."

Kuina just stared at him. "Go on..."

"I... shouldn't have done that. Sorry."

Kuina continued to stare at him. "Why did you do it?"

Zoro sighed. "I just figured if you got a boyfriend, you'd spend time with him-" Zoro paused, trying to think of the best way to phrase the next part without making him sound like a dick.

"Instead of you," Kuina frowned, finishing the sentence. Zoro cringed at that. Yep, he definitely sounded like a dick.

"Um... yeah."

"Am I that unpleasant to be around?"

Zoro shook his head. "No, its not that. Its just..." he trailed off.

"What!"

"Its weird being around you! You act the same like you did before!"

"So? Just because you've become a cold, emotionless jackass, doesn't mean I have to have changed too!"

"But our relationship has changed!"

Kuina's eyes widened. Zoro looked away, the whole situation becoming extremely awkward.

Kuina looked at Zoro, her eyes sad. "You said you loved me..."

Zoro gulped. "Um yeah..."

"So? Didn't you mean it?"

Zoro shook his head. "Of course I meant it. Back then. Things have changed since then..."

Kuina grabbed Zoro and shook him once, seriously shocking him. "Why? What's so great about her? What does she have that I don't?"

"Kuina!" Zoro exclaimed, struggling out of her grip. He backed away from her, beginning to feel a little freaked out. "I-I don't have to explain that to you. I love Robin. I'm sorry... but that's the way things are now." He turned away, too scared to look back at her.

Kuina slammed the door shut. "Robin..." she whispered angrily.

######

Zoro returned to the lobby, a troubled look on his face. There, everyone was still waiting expectantly. Nami eyed Zoro nervously.

"Well?"

Zoro sat down next to Robin, seemingly speaking just to her. "It was... weird."

Robin looked worriedly at him. "What happened?"

Zoro looked nervously at her. "Um... where do I begin..."

Sanji rolled his eyes. "Come on Moss-brain..."

Zoro glared at him, before turning back to Robin. "Well... I said sorry. Then she asked me why I did it, so I told her. Then..."

"Then what," Nami prompted.

Zoro sighed, running his hands through his hair. "She got angry... Plus, she's seriously jealous of Robin. Like, I'd actually be nervous if the two were in the same room together." He added jokingly, before sitting up, looking really serious. "Actually, we really need to make sure Robin is never alone with her, OK?"

Robin sunk back in her chair. "Really?"

Nami sighed. "I guess she hasn't moved on... she's still in love with Zoro."

Sanji nodded in agreement. "What do you expect? It hasn't even been two years. Its only because moss-head here is so emotionally constipated that he's moved on so quickly..."

Zoro glared at him. "Hey! What does that mean-"

"Actually, he kind of has a point, you did move on quite quickly. Although Robin was the main reason for that..." Nami interjected. Sanji smirked triumphantly, whilst Zoro glared at the ground. Robin smiled and kissed him lightly on the cheek, instantly cheering him up.

"So what do we do?" Usopp asked.

Zoro crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling. "Why do we have to do anything? We should just avoid her from now on."

Nami growled and got up. She thumped Zoro on head. "Idiot!"

Chopper gawked at Zoro. "That's so mean!"

Zoro winced at everyone's reactions. "It was just a suggestion..." he grunted quietly, feeling a little embarrassed.

Luffy then got up. Everyone looked at him expectantly. "We should... go eat."

Everyone sweat-dropped. Nami smacked him on the arm. "How does that help in any way!?"

Luffy jumped back onto his chair. "I'm hungry," he whined, "I can't think when I'm hungry!"

"You don't think anyway," Franky remarked quietly. Luffy glared at him.

"He's right," Garp said, getting up. "I'm getting hungry too. We should go eat. Besides, we shouldn't spend our vacation dwelling on someone's else's problems, right? We'll deal with this later."

"So, where are we going?" Zoro asked, glad that the subject had been changed.

Luffy's eyes lit up. "Oh! The hotel restaurant! Hachi said that he'd save a table for us!"

Zoro frowned. "Hachi?"

"He's spending the summer in Sabaody. He works as a chef in the hotel restaurant during evenings," Nami explained, "We met him today at his restaurant which he works at during the day."

Luffy beamed, jumping up. "Yeah, food time!"

"Honestly, You act like you haven't eaten in days..." Nami grumbled, following after Luffy. The others got up, leaving Zoro and Robin.

Robin stood up and was about to follow when Zoro grabbed her wrist. Robin turned to him. "What?"

"I've always wondered... Why did you choose me back then?" Zoro asked seriously. "I mean, I forgot your birthday..."

Robin narrowed her eyes. "You forgot my birthday?"

Zoro paused mid-flow. "Oh yeah, I never told you that..."

Robin pretended to be angry for a couple of seconds, before giggling. "It's fine, I already knew."

Zoro smirked, before continuing again. "But seriously though, I don't know much about relationships, which is probably why I always make mistakes, I'm a little lazy..."

"A little?"

A vein popped on Zoro's head. "Yeah... So why did you pick me?"

Robin smiled warmly. "Because... I love you." Zoro continued to look at her expectantly. "And that's all there is to it."

He smirked, getting up, "Love you too..." The two shared a passionate kiss, one which had been well overdue. "Don't forget about that walk I owe you..."

Robin giggled. "Of course not. After dinner, OK?"

"It's a date."

**Hope you guys like it. Finally some ZoRo! **


	10. Postcards

**I've noticed that people have been calling for the return of some of the other characters from back home (Mostly Law, but...)**

**So I decided to bring them back in this way. Hope you like this kind of unusual chapter. **

"They did?"

Olivia nodded. "They left for Sabaody a couple of days ago. Didn't Robin tell you?"

Law and Kid looked at each other. "No. No one told us."

Olivia frowned. "Huh. That's surprising. Why do you want Robin anyway?"

"We wanted to ask Straw Hat, Roronoa and Sanji if they wanted to play soccer with us. We went to Straw Hat's house, but no one was home," Kid explained.

"So then we went to Roronoa's and no one was there either. We thought they might be at Sanji's restaurant, but they weren't there either," Law continued.

"We then went to the park, but they weren't there either. We thought they might be here," Kid said, completing the explanation.

Olivia nodded slowly. "I see. Well, sorry, they won't be back until next week." Kid and Law nodded.

"Thank you Miss Nico," Law politely thanked, bowing slightly, whilst Kid turned around and walked off, not even bothering to wait for Law.

######

Hancock giggled girlishly to herself, unable to contain her excitement. After returning from vacation four days ago, she hadn't had a chance to talk to Sanji at all. That, plus the week she had spent on vacation before, was the longest they had gone without seeing each other since first started going out. So, she had planned a special romantic day out for the two if she could get Zeff to excuse Sanji, which was never a problem for her. Zeff seemed to have a soft spot for her. Then again, so did pretty much everyone.

"Good morning Babe!" Hancock cheerfully greeted as she opened the door of the Baratie.

No response. The restaurant was nearly completely empty, with a couple of waiters chatting idly by the kitchen. They glanced over at Hancock and their eyes widened. They immediately stumbled towards her, both trying desperately to get ahead of the other.

"How may I help you?" they both asked simultaneously, both with perverted grins on their face as they excitedly looked Hancock over.

Hancock winced and nervously took a step back. "Where's Sanji?"

They both looked at each other. "He went on vacation the day before yesterday. Why?"

Hancock frowned. "Really? He didn't tell me."

The waiters looked at each other, before sighing. "Don't tell me... You're Sanji's girlfriend?"

Hancock nodded. They sighed in disappointment and slunk back to their original position by the kitchen, muttering about how Sanji would kill them if they even looked at his girlfriend. Hancock turned around and left the restaurant, feeling a little hurt. "Why didn't Sanji tell me he was going? Did he... forget me?"

######

Sanji yawned as he sat down in the hotel lobby. It was nearly midnight and everyone, by now, had gone to their rooms, retiring for the night. After dinner, he had gone with Nami to buy some postcards from a nearby souvenir shop so everyone could write home to whoever they wanted too. Sanji had bought two for himself so that he could write one to Zeff and one to Hancock.

He placed the postcard on the coffee table in front of him and begun to write, choosing to write Hancock's first because, honestly, she was more important to him.

_To my dearest, how are you? Do you miss me? Because I miss you loads._

Sanji smirked as he leaned back, trying to remember his last meeting with Hancock before he left.

And then he paused. His eyes widened. He had planned to go to Hancock's house the night before setting off to say goodbye to her. But because of the incident with Chimney and Gonbe, he had completely forgotten about that. He had never told Hancock that he was leaving.

Sanji felt tears well up in his eyes. "H-Hancock... I'm so sorry... You must be so lonely without me..." Some of the other people in the lobby were staring at him, wondering why this tough looking teenager was crying like a little kid.

He then stared at the postcard, suddenly feeling determined to finish it as soon as possible and send it to Hancock.

######

"There you are! There's a letter here for you!" Hancock, who had just returned from the Baratie, frowned.

"Huh, a letter for me?"

Hancock's mother, Nyon, nodded. She handed the letter to Hancock, who looked confused, before gasping. She excitedly ripped the letter open. She looked at it for a second before squealing. Her younger sisters, Sandersonia and Marigold, looked at each other.

"Are you OK?"

Hancock nodded excitedly. "It's a postcard from Sanji! I'm surprised he sent it so soon..."

Nyon smiled. She really liked Sanji, she thought he was a real gentleman and loved how respectful he was, both to her, and to Hancock and her sisters. Plus, after meeting Luffy once at a soccer game, seeing Hancock with Sanji gave her a real sense of relief. "What does it say?"

Hancock lifted the letter up and began to read. "To my dearest Hancock. How are you? Do you miss me? Because I miss you loads. I am so sorry that I didn't tell you I was going. I am so so so so so so so so so so so-"

"Maybe you can skip the "so"s," Nyon interrupted. Hancock nodded.

"so so sorry. Can you ever forgive me? Once again I am so so so so so-"

Nyon sighed. "Let's skip the "so"s again."

"so sorry. Sabaody is truly beautiful, but its still nothing compared to you. I wish you were here with me so that we could enjoy the beauty of Sabaody together. I love you Hancock. Even though I love Sabaody, I can't wait to come home to you. Sanji." Hancock smiled. "I can't wait to see you too dear..."

######

Law half-heartedly rolled the soccer ball to Kid. "So... Where's Bonney?"

Kid yawned as he stopped the ball. "Out with her family." He weakly rolled the ball back to Law. "Where's Monet?"

"Work Experience. I think she's at some medical research lab or something."

"Cool."

"Very."

The two looked at each other, before dropping to the ground and groaning. "Damn... Why's it so quiet around here?"

"It's because there's no Straw Hat," Law said, "Normally he's doing something around about now. Its the summer, this is when he's at his best."

"By that, you mean his dumbest, right?"

"Well, yeah."

######

"Miss Kaya, a letter has arrived for you!" Merry called from the front porch. Kaya immediately got up and hurried over to him, hoping it was from Usopp. "It looks like a postcard."

He handed the letter to Kaya, who smiled as she recognised Usopp's messy handwriting. She turned the postcard over.

_Dear Kaya,_

_Whats up? Must be pretty boring without me, right? Try not to miss me too much. Anyway, you won't believe some of the things that have happened in Sabaody so far..._

Kaya excitedly scanned the letter, before giggling. She looked at Merry. "Apparently Usopp wrestled a shark underwater."

Merry laughed. "That's Master Usopp, always up to something..."

Kaya continued reading, before suddenly laughing again. "And he won a strong man competition on the beach too!"

Merry chuckled. "Of course he did."

Kaya smiled. "Sounds like he's really enjoying himself. I'm glad."

Merry nodded. "I don't think it would be possible for Master Usopp to not enjoy himself..."

######

Bellemere hummed lightly as she stepped out of the shower.

"Hey mom!" Nojiko called from the living room. "Come here! Nami sent us a postcard!" Bellemere grinned. She wrapped a towel around her torso and hopped down the stairs, taking the last three in one go.

Nojiko winced when she saw her. "Jeez, you could have put on some clothes first."

Bellemere looked down. It was kind of a small towel. She smiled sheepishly. "Come on, Its just you..."

Nojiko rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She handed the postcard to Bellemere.

_Dear Mom and Nojiko,_

_How are you two? Must be quiet at home without me and Luffy. Well, mostly without Luffy. He's fine by the way, he's generally behaved himself so far. Thought trust me, its been a struggle. He nearly missed the flight because he forgot to set his alarm! That idiot..._

_Anyway Sabaody is amazingly beautiful, it really is like a tropical paradise. The town is amazing for shopping, although the prices are extortionate! Stupid stingy shopkeepers... Anyway, you'll never guess who we ran into... Kuina! Can you believe that, what are the odds?_

_Anyway, I'm really enjoing Sabaody, wish you guys were here, you'd love it! I really miss you guys though, I hope you don't miss me too much._

_Nami xx._

Bellemere chuckled, "Those poor shopkeepers..."

######

_Whats up Geezer?_

_Anyway, sorry if this is short, but I really can't be arsed to write this._

_Sabaody's pretty nice, I miss you a lot, blah blah blah, try not to screw up too many orders,_

_Sanji._

A vein popped on Zeff's head. He crumpled up the postcard and tossed it in the bin. "Damn brat..." he grumbled as he returned to the dish he was cooking. "Why do I miss him?"

The other chefs in the kitchen nervously eyed Zeff. "Is he... OK?"

######

KNOCK KNOCK

"Come in," Commissioner Newgate, aka Whitebeard, barked. The door opened and Marco entered.

"Hey old man, check this out," he smirked, handing a postcard to Whitebeard, who was flicking through some paperwork.

"What is it?" Whitebeard grunted, putting it aside, not even bothering to look at it and returning to his paperwork.

"Its a postcard from Ace."

Whitebeard stopped looking through the papers and put them down. He picked up the postcard and turned it over.

_Hey guys,_

_How are you doing? Hope you're not struggling too much without me. How's the old man? Still as grumpy as ever right?..._

Whitebeard growled and put the postcard down. "Don't care. Now get back to work!" Marco sighed and turned around, leaving Whitebeard's office. When he was gone, Whitebeard waited a couple of seconds, before picking up the postcard again and continuing to read it.

######

Law frowned. After him and Kid had spent another hour or so at the park, playing Crossbar Challenge on the soccer pitches, they had gone back to his house. However, there was a letter stuck in the letter slot.

"What's that?" Kid grunted, forcibly yanking the letter out.

Law shook his head. "Dunno." He opened the door and him and Kid went in, Kid immediately jumping onto his couch. "Make yourself at home," Law sarcastically grunted, going into the kitchen. Kid smirked, putting his feet up on the couch, deliberately to annoy Law. "Want anything to drink?" Law called from the kitchen.

"Get me a Coke!"

After messing around in the kitchen for a bit, Law entered the living, frowning at the sight of Kid's feet on his couch. "Get you feet off my furniture." Kid glared at him, before sighing and putting his feet on the floor. Law smirked and tossed the can to Kid, who caught it. "So what does the letter say?"

"What letter?"

Law rolled his eyes. "The one from my front door."

"Huh, oh, I put it on the table. Didn't think you'd want me to open it."

Law shrugged. "Nah, I wouldn't have minded." He sat down on the couch opposite Kid. He neatly opened the letter, the envelope remaining completely intact. "A postcard?" He turned it over and smirked. "Its from Straw Hat!"

Kid sat up. "What really? How come you get one and I don't?"

Law read the first line. "'To Traffy and Kid', Its for both of us. 'How are you guys? Sabaody is awesome! There's a really cool beach and get this, there's an aquarium with an underwater tunnel! How cool is that? But Nami hasn't let me go there yet, she doesn't realise how cool it is. Our Hotel's awesome too! They have a ginormous buffet for breakfast! And the rooms are huge, they're like the size of my living room, its so cool! Sabaody's awesome, you guys have to come here some day! Your buddy, Luffy. P.S. Nami says Hi.'"

Kid rolled his eyes. "Its like it was written by a seven year old..."

Law ignored this and smirked. "Sounds like he's having fun."

"Clearly..."

Law then sat up. "Hey, I just got an idea!"

Kid smirked. "What is it... _Traffy_?"

Law glared at him. "Don't call me that."

######

Olivia yawned with boredom as she picked up the post from the front door. After Kid and Law's visit, it had been a pretty slow morning on her day off. She leafed through the letters before reaching a postcard from Robin's. "Aw, how thoughtful of her."

She made her way to the living room, making herself comfortable, before beginning to read.

_Hey Mom, how are you?_

_These past couple of days have been really hectic._

_Firstly, Zoro and the others nearly missed the flight yesterday. Zoro overslept (as usual) but they made it just in time and now we're all in Sabaody. Sabaody is a very peaceful and beautiful Island. We also ran into Zoro's ex-girlfriend at the airport, but don't worry, nothing has changed between me and Zoro. In fact, Zoro's actually looking over my shoulder now as I'm writing this._

_I'm really enjoying myself here, but at the same time, I am missing you a lot. You'd love Sabaody, there is a lot of history behind this island. Did you know that the Celestial Dragons used to have a palace here? Amazing, right? We're actually going to be visiting it sometime in the next couple of days, something which I can see Zoro is dreading._

_I hope you're doing well mom,_

_Robin_

_P.S. Zoro gives you his best._

Olivia smiled as she began to reread the postcard.

######

"Aren't you going to write one too?" Robin asked, offering Zoro a spare postcard she had picked up earlier from Sanji. Zoro yawned and shook his head.

"Nah, too much effort." He then flopped down on Nami and Robin's bed, picking up the TV remote from the bedside table.

Nami glared at him. "Do you have to hang out here? Why can't you go back to your own room?"

Zoro scratched his head. "My room's empty, Love Cook's hanging out in the lobby. Said it was quieter down there or something." He then smirked evilly "Besides... Robin wants me here. Don't you?"

Robin giggled. "Of course."

Nami jaw dropped. "Robin! Don't encourage him!"

Robin giggled as she kissed Zoro on the cheek. "Sorry, but I just can't say no to this one..."

Nami huffed. "Yeah, well maybe you should practise. I can see that policy not working out in the future..."

Zoro grinned as he pulled Robin close. "God you're amazing. I think that's the first time I've ever overruled Nami!"

**Well? I know its something completely different from usual, and something you probably weren't expecting. But it seems like some people are missing the characters at home, so I thought this was an interesting way of bringing them back.**

**As always, thanks for reading, and drop a review/favourite/follow if you can!**


	11. Snakes and Getting lost

**Sorry I haven't updated in like a month now. Its hard to explain guys, but I have been literally snowed under with work. I've had exams, essays etc. ever since Mid February. I've barely had a second to relax, let alone write this, so I am really sorry about that, and to be honest, I'm not sure It's gonna get better. I have the next few weeks off, but after that I have more work, and more exams, so its gonna be really hard to upload this story regularly. **

**I hope you guys understand, and I hope you do enjoy the chapters when they come. I used to upload very regularly, but now, I'll just upload when I can really. Sorry, but its the best I can do for now.**

**That being said, hope you guys can forgive me ;), and please enjoy the chapter!**

"Jeez, you suck."

Zoro growled as he turned to face Sanji. "What, you think you can do better?"

Sanji shrugged. "Even a kid could do better. How did you of all people end up with the map in the first place?"

"You gave it to him when we got on the bus," Luffy chipped in.

Sanji took the map from Zoro. "Oh yeah. But you were meant to give it back afterwards. We can't be relying on you for directions. We'd be better off with Gonbei leading us around."

Zoro glared at him, but couldn't think of anything to say in response. Sanji wasn't paying attention to him, furiously rotating the map, trying to work out where they were. Luffy walked past the two and plopped down on the ground, cross legged.

"Come on!" he whined, "When will we get there?"

"One second, jeez..." Sanji grumbled, scanning the map. "Yeah, I think I see the right way."

"This would be much quicker if Nami was here. She's better at navigating than all of us put togeter," Usopp said. Ace nodded.

"I don't get why she and the others wouldn't want to explore the forest with us."

######

"So, what are we going to do today?" Nami brightly asked, now that everyone had finished breakfast.

"Aquarium!" Luffy grinned, jumping up. Ace pulled him back down.

"You do realise you're the only one who actually cares about that?"

"What about the rainforest?" Sanji suggested. "Miss Shakky told us about it on the first day."

Zoro yawned, lazily raising his hand. "I'm up for it."

Ace nodded. "Yeah, me too."

Luffy grinned. "Yeah, sounds fun!"

Nami shook her head. "I'm OK. I really can't be bothered with that."

"But Nami-" Luffy protested.

"We could go shopping," Robin suggested. Nami smiled.

"Yeah, that sounds good."

Zoro looked at Robin. "What, you too?"

"Can I go with you guys too?" Chopper asked. Both Usopp and Luffy looked shocked.

"Chopper? Why?"

Chopper shook his head. "Sorry guys, I don't really feel like it. Too much walking."

Garp yawned loudly. "I can't be arsed either to be honest."

"Maybe we could split up?" Franky suggested. "You four can just relax in the town whilst we explore the forest."

######

"See. I told you I'd get us here," Sanji smirked smugly, turning to Zoro. After a further half an hour of walking, led by Sanji this time rather than Zoro, the group had finally reached Sabaody Nature reserve.

Zoro blushed with embarassment, turning away from the now laughing Sanji. Usopp patted him on the back in a lame attempt to heal his bruised ego.

"So, what, can we just go in?" Ace wondered aloud.

Sanji looked around and shrugged. "I dunno. I wish there was someone to ask."

"What about that information office over there?" Zoro said, pointing to the left of where the others were looking. There was a small building, which had "Sabaody Nature reserve Information Office" written along the top of it. There were two teenage girls standing in the building, idly chatting, not appearing to have noticed them.

Sanji rubbed his head. "How did I miss that?"

Zoro smirked, his arrogance returning. "Who's the idiot now?"

Sanji glared at him, whilst Ace approached the office. "Wait here guys, I'll talk to them."

The guys watched as Ace talked to the two girls, who had perked up as soon as they'd seen Ace approaching. Instant fangirls it would seem. After talking to them briefly, Ace politely shook his head and walked back to the others, holding what looked like a map in his hand.

"Whats that?" Franky asked, eying the folded piece of paper. Ace began to unfold it.

"It's a leaflet with loads of information about this place and a map of the whole reserve. It seems like its kinda huge. The people there said that this would have all the information I need. They then offered to take me on a private tour, but I said no. They seemed really... hyper," Ace explained.

"So if we've got this... can we go now?" Luffy asked, clearly starting to get impatient from waiting around.

"Yep, but make sure to stick together and not wander off guys. This place is seriously huge..."

######

"I'm not sure..." Robin mumbled uneasily. Nami frowned.

"Come on, it will be fun! Don't you love going to the spa?"

Robin shook her head. "Never been."

Nami's jaw literally dropped. "You've... never been? Oh Robin, you've never lived..."

After Luffy and the others had set off in the morning, Nami, Robin, Garp and Chopper had remained at breakfast for a little longer, before Garp decided to go to the Hotel's pool, wanting to take a nap. After Nami had suggested going shopping, Chopper had decided to follow Garp, and the two had remained at the hotel all day.

"Hey guys!" someone called from behind the two. They turned around to see Keimi walking up to them, a friendly smile on her face. "Fancy meeting you two here."

Nami hugged Keimi in greeting. "Keimi! What are you doing here?"

"Just visiting the spa. Its my day off."

"Oh, you come here often?" Robin asked.

Keimi nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, every day off! This is by far the best spa on the island. You guys will love it."

Robin still looked unconvinced, but Nami grabbed her arm and dragged her in, following Keimi.

######

Franky looked curiously at the creature perched in front of him, its head jutting out at a weird angle. "Never seen a bird like that before..."

Ace flicked through the leaflet he had gotten from the two girls, before stopping. He looked up at the bird, and then looked back at the leaflet. "That's a 'South Bird'. It's an extemely rare bird, found only on this island. They're special because their heads always point south."

Usopp stared at the bird, twisting his neck slightly to align his head with the bird's. "So that's why its neck is twisted like that..."

Sanji smirked. "Look at that moss-head, a bird that has a better sense of direction than you do..." He waited for the inevitable lame comeback.

But it never came. Everyone looked around. Ace was the first to break the silence "Where... is Zoro?"

Usopp groaned. "And Luffy too. Those idiots got lost."

######

Zoro looked around, before sighing. "What, the others got lost? Figures, those guys..."

He yawned loudly, dropping down next to a tree. He opened his rucksack, searching for the lunch he had bought in the town beforehand. He grinned as he found his sandwich and was about to take a bite of it, when he noticed someone looking at him.

About 10m in front of him was a bright purple and green bird, perched on a low branch, with its neck twisted at an awkward angle so that, whilst it was looking at him, it looked extremely uncomfortable.

Zoro looked at the bird, then his sandwich, then back at the bird. He glared at it. "Buzz off, I'm not feeding you if that's what you want."

The bird continued to stare at Zoro, really beginning to piss him off now. "Oi, I'm warning you..."

Suddenly the bird hopped off the branch, and attempted to snatch Zoro's food. Zoro twisted the sandwich away from him. "Jeez, what the hell is wrong with this thing..."

Zoro swung his fist at the bird, who easily dodged it, and whilst Zoro was momentarily off balance, the bird snatched his sandwich, gobbling it down at once. Zoro swung at it again, but the bird easily jumped away. "Why, you..."

He jumped at it, but the bird flew up and landed on the branch, Zoro completely missing it. It continued to stare at Zoro, a victorious look in its eyes. Zoro, lying on the ground, glared up at the bird.

######

Luffy's stomach growled loudly. "Damn... Maybe I should have saved my lunch for later..."

He tiredly dropped down, rubbing his groaning stomach. "Where did Ace and everyone go? I'm sooo hungry..."

Suddenly, he noticed something shining out of the corner of his eye. He looked up at the tall tree in front of him where he saw a large green pumpkin shaped fruit hanging from it. His eyes lit up, as he immediately jumped up, mouth watering. "Woah... Its so big!"

He then looked at the tree. The tree was huge, at least 25m tall. But this didn't discourage Luffy, who gripped a knot on the tree and began climbing up it. After nearly falling twice, Luffy reached the branch, and scrambled onto it. He carefully slid along it, until he reached the fruit. Without even detatching it from the tree, he attempted to bite it.

Big mistake. The fruit was as hard as a rock, and Luffy immediately pulled back, his hand on his mouth. "OW!"

Luffy, fell on his back, his mouth in agony. He fell off the branch and dropped down, at least 5m, awkwardly landing on the forest floor, causing more pain. Luffy rolled on the ground in pain.

"Ow, ow, ow!" He yelped, his back now hurting too. Suddenly, he stopped when he heard rustling coming from around him. He frowned and turned around. His jaw dropped when he saw a long blue snake, slithering towards him.

"ACE!" Luffy screamed, as he scrambled to his feet and bolted in the opposite direction of the snake.

######

Zoro kicked the base of the tree hard, the lower branches shaking. "Damn it! Come down from there you coward!" Zoro roared, looking up at the bird, still perched on a more stable branch, who now seemed to have an amused look on its face.

Zoro huffed and gave up, turning around. "Damn, I've wasted too long here... I need to find the others. They're probably lost without me..."

He then stopped, scratching his head. "I should have a plan though. The first thing should be to get back to the Information Office. From there, I can get a map and start looking for the others. I can't wait to show that eyebrow..."

Zoro smirked, happy with his plan, before stopping. "Wait... Which way is the Information Office?"

Zoro pictured the map of the island from before in his head. "It's down, which is... South, right? OK, I just need to head South!"

Zoro smirked again, happy he now had a direction to go, before stopping again, mentally slapping himself. "Wait... Which way is south?"

Suddenly, the bird cawed, and Zoro turned around, glaring at it. "Shut up, I don't care about you any more! Leave me alone!"

The bird continued to stare at Zoro. It nodded its beak and jumped up and down, trying to show Zoro which way South was. Zoro rolled his eyes. "I don't get what you want, but I don't care! Go bother love-cook or someone."

######

"ACE!"

Ace gasped and looked around. "Luffy! Did you guys hear that?"

Everyone nodded. Suddenly, Luffy shot past them. "SNAKE!" He yelled, not stopping. Everyone looked confused, and turned around. One sight of the snake, and they bolted after Luffy.

"Can't you just stay out of trouble FOR ONCE!" Sanji growled, sprinting hard to try to catch up with Luffy.

"I'm sorry!" Luffy cried, still at the front of the group.

"Why... does this always... happen...?" Franky panted.

"We should have just left you at home!" Ace grunted, catching up with Luffy, and thumping him on the arm.

######

Zoro yawned as he casually stepped over a tree root. He was enjoying himself, under the delusion that the others were lost and he was the one that had to go and find everyone.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of screaming. He looked to the right where he saw the others sprinting towards him. He smirked, "I knew it... You guys were so scared-"

Luffy and Ace shot past him, not even acknowledging him. Zoro stopped, mid speech. A vein popped on his head. "Hey, don't just ignore me!"

Sanji and the others then came sprinting towards him. Sanji frowned. "Damn... I hoped the snake had eaten you." He yanked Zoro by the hand and pulled him after him. "Either way, let's go!"

Zoro pulled away from him, rubbing his hand on his shirt. "Don't touch me! Now, what do you mean snake?"

Sanji, still running pointed behind him. "See for yourself."

Zoro looked in that direction, and his eyes widened. He scrambled after Sanji. "What did you do!?"

Sanji turned to glare at him. "Why would it be me!?"

######

"Oh him? He's just Mr Wiper's pet. Mr Wiper isn't working today, but his pet lives here. When he's not around, we let him out into the jungle. He doesn't hurt humans, he probably just wanted to say hi. I'm sorry, did he scare you?" One of the girls from the information office smiled, as she petted the snake, who hissed in pleasure.

Ace stared in shock at the girl. "That's your pet...?"

She laughed. "Yeah, a lot of people are surprised. I'm sorry if he scared you."

Ace nodded slowly. "I'm fine... But the others..."

He turned around, where the others were panting heavily, lying down in a heap together.

The girl giggled. "Sorry..."

Ace grinned. "Don't worry about it. I guess it was good that he was there, because we wouldn't have found Luffy and Zoro without him."

######

Nami dropped her bags onto the bench, before she sat down. "Man... I'm tired. This Island has so many shops!"

Keimi giggled, sitting down next to her. "I know right? It's great for shopping. That's one of the reasons why I love working here. On my day off, there are so many shops to go."

Robin nodded, standing besides the two, not as tired as them. "It's a beautiful island too."

Keimi smiled. "Yeah... Still, there's one place where I've always wanted to go. Every time I've asked, Hachin has always been busy or not had the time. What's the time?"

Robin glanced at her watch. "Only 3. Why?"

Keimi stood up. "Do you guys want to go to Sabaody Park?"

Nami looked at her. "Sabaody Park? You really want to go there?"

Keimi nodded excitedly. "Honestly, I just really want to ride the Ferris wheel! I've never been on one!"

Nami smiled. "Is that so? Well then, let's go!"

######

"Huh? A South Bird?"

Ace nodded. "We saw one too. They're called that because their heads always point south. They're meant to be extremely rare. I can't believe we both saw one!"

Zoro frowned and mumbled to himself. "Wait, if that bird was pointing south... Then I just had to follow that direction? Was it trying to tell me that..."

"What was that?" Usopp asked.

"N-Nothing," Zoro stammered, suddenly starting to feel like an idiot.

**Wow. It's been so long since I've done this. Really hope you enjoyed the chapter, have no idea how good it is. **

**If you can, please leave a review. It's important that I know if I've written a good or bad chapter. Plus, a good review really does make my day sometimes. **


	12. Sabaody Park

**So before we begin here, I want to thank you guys for being so awesome about my lack of updates. You guys were really nice in the reviews, and I was shocked to see that all my regulars were still following this story.**

**Its been another quite long wait since my last chapter, so I do have to apologize for that. But if I can get the same response as I got for my last chapter, then I'll be absolutely delighted.**

"Wow!" Nami gushed, twirling around. "This place is so huge!"

Keimi laughed. "Yeah, I've always wanted to come here. It's meant to be really amazing."

Robin giggled at the two. "They're so similar..."

"Sorry, What was that Robin?" Nami asked.

"N-Nothing."

"Hey guys!"

Nami, Robin and Keimi turned to see Chopper and Garp walking towards them, Chopper's clutching a big stick of cotton candy.

"Chopper? What are you doing here?"

"I figured Chopper was getting bored of watching me laze around, so I asked what he wanted to do, and he suggested coming here," Garp replied.

"Why are you guys here?" Chopper asked.

"We ran into Keimi at the spa, and she wanted to come here."

Suddenly, Keimi gasped, attracting everyone's attention. "Oh, the Ferris Wheel's over there!"

"Ooh a Ferris wheel!" Chopper squealed, turning to Garp. "Can we go?"

Garp yawned, clearly tired after an afternoon of keeping up with a sugar filled Chopper. "Sure, why not."

Nami smiled. "That's great. So, we'll all go!"

######

"You sure that's them?"

Macro nodded furiously. "Those are definitely the girls who were with the Straw Hat Kid."

The tall man looked around. "So where's the Straw Hat kid?"

Macro paused and scanned the area. He frowned. "Ah... dunno..."

The tall man looked coldly at Macro, causing Macro's blood to turn to ice. "You don't know? Are you wasting my time?"

Macro shook his head furiously, backing away from the tall man. "N-No. S-sorry, I th-though he'd be here too!"

The tall man shook his head. "Whatever, we'll have to figure something out."

Macro breathed a sigh of relief, before turning back to the group. "Well, Keimi's with them."

"Keimi?"

"She's that jerk, Hachi's girlfriend," Macro spat out, the resentment in his voice clear. "She's the reason that Straw Hat kid attacked me in the first place."

The tall man raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yeah," Macro growled, now glaring at Keimi from their hiding spot. "That bitch... If she'd just given me what I wanted..."

"So the Straw Hat kid saved her from you? That's interesting." The tall man grinned. "Yes, we'll make her our target. If we get her, both the Straw Hat kid and Hachi will come after us. Then we can have our revenge over both of them."

Macro smirked. "Nice plan boss."

######

"Thank you guys so much," Keimi smiled as the five entered their bubble shaped compartment on the Ferris wheel. The compartment was huge, big enough for about ten people. The bubble was completely clear too, so you could see everything. Nami hugged her.

"Hey, any time. We're friends, aren't we?"

"Wow, this is so exciting," Chopper gushed, practically bouncing up and down. He turned to Robin. "You must be able to see the whole island from the top!"

Robin giggled. "Yes, the view from the top will definitely be something."

Suddenly, the wheel jolted and began to move. Keimi and Chopper gasped in excitement. The wheel slowly climbed, stopping every time a new bubble made it to the top.

"We're nearly at the top," Garp grinned, fishing out his camera from his pocket.

When they reached the top, everyone was silent for a second. The view was stunning. It was like they were at the centre of the island, able to see everything all around them. The blue sea, the green rain-forest, the yellow sand, everything was in view from here. The island surrounded them. It was like they were floating above the island in their bubble.

"Wow," Keimi gushed, her nose pressed against the side of the compartment. "This is amazing!"

"Ooh, there's the Hotel," Chopper excitedly pointed out.

"There's the forest where the others are at," Garp noted.

"This is... better than I imagined..." Keimi said, really overwhelmed by the whole experience.

######

"Dumb-ass."

Luffy pouted. "Come on! When are you guys gonna forgive me?"

Usopp looked coldly at him. "Never."

"I'm more pissed at the Stray moss," Sanji grunted. "Where the hell did you wander off to?"

Zoro glared at him. "Shut up! I was the one who was trying to find you guys!"

Ace yawned. "What are you talking about? We were all together. It was just you and Luffy who were on your own, lost."

"Besides," Franky laughed. "If we ever did have to rely on **you** to find us, we'd be screwed."

Ace sighed. "Forget about it guys. The important thing is that we're all together now. Let's just head back now before something else happens."

Everyone nodded. Zoro yawned, making his way to the front of the group. Sanji looked at him. "Hey, keep close. I don't want you to leave my sight."

Zoro turned around and glared at him. "Shut up! I'm not a kid, I can handle myself."

Ace sighed, tired out. "The hotel's just around the corner guys. Let's keep it together."

######

Zoro smirked as he knocked on Robin's door. Whilst he had been alone in the forest, he had decided to take this opportunity to get a gift for Robin. Even though the two had made up, he still felt like he had to make an extra effort to keep impressing her. When he got no reply, he knocked again, harder. "Robin?"

"What're you doing?" Sanji asked, walking up behind Zoro and tapping him on the back. Zoro spun around, and put his arms behind his back, not wanting Sanji to see what he had.

"N-nothing! What are you doing here?"

"When I came out of the shower, you weren't there, so I went looking for you. You know, because we share a room. What's that behind your back?"

Zoro's face went bright red. "N-nothing. Go away!"

"Eh?" Sanji frowned. "Is it something for Robin?"

"None of your business," Zoro growled, glaring at Sanji. Sanji smirked and tried to go around Zoro, who twisted to continue hiding what he had in his hands from Sanji's view.

Suddenly, the door opposite opened, and Ace emerged. "I heard voices outside. What are you two doing?"

"Moss-head's got something he doesn't want me to see"

Ace grinned. "Is that so?"

Zoro's face went pale. "Wait, what are you-"

Ace tried to go around Zoro, so Zoro twisted again to stop Ace seeing, but Sanji took this opportunity to finally grab Zoro's hand.

In his hand were four pink flowers, now slightly creased. Sanji smiled. "Aww, how cute..."

Zoro glared at him. "Shut up! You can't talk!"

Sanji laughed. "Yeah, but I'm me. From you... this is something."

Ace laughed too, and swung his arm around Zoro. "What can I say. It seems our Zoro had found true love."

Zoro glared at the two. "You guys are jerks..." Ace laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, you love us really. By the way, Robin's not here. She, Nami, Gramps and Chopper are out. Gramps left a note saying him and Chopper have gone to Sabaody park. Not sure where Nami and Robin are though,"

Sanji frowned. "They went without us?"

Ace yawned. "If you want, you guys can go too. It's probably like a half an hour walk, and its only half four now."

Zoro shrugged. "Might as well. You coming?"

Ace shook his head. "Nah, I'm gonna have a nap. Call me if you guys go get a bite to eat afterwards though."

Sanji nodded. "Will do. Moss head, go ask Luffy and Usopp if they want to come. I'll get Franky and Brook."

Zoro nodded. "Yeah, sure."

######

"Are you sure?" Garp nervously asked, looking up at the roller-coaster that Chopper had just suggested.

Chopper nodded his head furiously. "Yeah, I wanna go on that one! Why, Is it too much for you?"

Garp glared at him. "What was that? Are you challenging me brat?"

"All I'm saying is that if its too much for you, I'd be OK with you sitting it out..."

Garp, seething, forcefully took Chopper's hand, and yanked him towards the ride, Nami and Robin quietly giggling.

"Do you want to go too?" Nami asked. "If they're going, we might as well."

Robin didn't look too enthusiastic. "Um... Maybe Keimi could go with you."

Keimi immediately shook her head. "N-No thank you. I can't handle rides like that."

"Come on Robin," Nami whined,"I don't want to go alone." She pouted and stared at Robin. Robin tried to hold firm, but eventually gave in.

"Fine, I'll go."

Keimi laughed at the two. "I'll wait for you two here."

Keimi yawned as she sat down on a bench, watching her friends queue up. She smiled to herself. "What a day! I can't wait to tell Hatchin about this."

"Keimi, what a surprise to see you here."

Keimi looked up, and her eyes widened when she saw Macro walking towards her. However, his usual disgusting grin was replaced with a more solemn, almost apologetic look. "Macro! Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Just enjoying a day off. The same as you I presume. Listen, I just wanted to apologize for all the trouble I've caused you. I know I can't make it OK that easily... but I want you to know that I do really regret what I've done to you. I am truly sorry."

Keimi looked up at him uncertainly, before smiling. "Thank you Macro. That means a lot to me. But you should apologize to Hatchin too."

Macro struggled to stifle a grin. "Well actually.. I already have. I went to the restaurant this morning. That's another reason why I'm here. Hatchi took the afternoon off and he was looking for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. If you want, I can take you to him. He's here too."

Keimi nodded. "Yeah, that would be really nice of you!"

Macro grinned, standing up. "Then lets go."

######

Luffy ran on ahead of the others, "Wow, this is better than Water 7!"

"It is pretty huge," Usopp remarked, "How are we gonna find the others here?"

"We should probably split up," Zoro grunted, already walking away from the others. A vein popped on Sanji's and Usopp's heads.

"Don't Dumbass! You'll get lost!" Sanji shouted.

"It will be nearly impossible to find you in a place like this with so many people! Get back here!" Usopp angrily added too.

Zoro glared at the two. "Shut up, look over there!"

Everyone looked to where Zoro was pointing. There was a large map, which showed the park and all its attractions.

"All we have to do is follow that map. On every attraction and entrance is a number. Even If I get lost, I can just follow the numbers to get back here," Zoro explained. "Basically, even a kid wouldn't get lost here."

Sanji and Usopp looked at each other. "I'm not gonna lie, he actually did think about this one."

Sanji nodded, before turning back to Zoro. "OK, but make sure to always ask for directions."

"And don't forget to never believe in your own sense of direction. That's screwed us over a lot..." Usopp added.

"I'm not completely hopeless you know!" Zoro growled. He then looked at the entrance, just to take down the number. There were a couple of people standing by the entrance, so the number was partially obstructed, but Zoro could make out the number '1' peeking out from behind them. "So this is number one then. If I get lost, I just have to follow the numbers until I get back to one."

Zoro walked off, satisfied that he knew what he was doing. However just then the people by the entrance moved, revealing the entrance number to actually be '11'. The people had been blocking the extra one and Zoro hadn't seen it.

Unfortunately, Zoro however didn't look back. He smirked to himself. "I'll show them. They'll never make fun of me again."

######

"Huh? Where did Keimi go?"

"Are you sure she was waiting here?"

"Yeah, positive. It was definitely this bench."

"Maybe she went to get some cotton candy."

"She's not like you, you know..."

Robin, Nami, Chopper and Garp looked at each other, confused. After getting off the ride, they had returned to the bench where Keimi was waiting for them, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"We should split up to look for her. Its probably nothing, but..." Garp trailed off.

Nami nodded. "I'll go look with Robin."

######

"Grampa! Chopper! Where are you!" Luffy yelled. His stomach growled. "Where are those guys? I'm so hungry..."

"... And she fell for it! That dumb bitch!"

Luffy's ears pricked up. "Who was that? That voice sounds familiar..."

He looked around and saw Macro laughing with a couple of his gang. Luffy glared at him.

"Hey you! What are you doing here?" Luffy barked. Macro's eyes widened when he saw Luffy coming towards him. He stumbled backwards.

"Str-Straw hat! H-hey, fancy meeting you here..."

"Shut up! I haven't forgiven you guys for what you did!"

Macro continued to back away, tripping over. "I-I'm just enjoying a day out, there's nothing wrong with that, right?"

Luffy stopped. "Well, yeah, I guess. But still, don't go near Keimi or Nami or anyone else, got that?"

Macro nodded, terrified. "U-Understood."

"Luffy!"

Luffy turned around to see Garp and Chopper coming towards him. "Guys! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Listen, we've got a big problem Luffy! Keimi's missing," Chopper cried, grabbing Luffy.

"What?"

"Its possible she was kidnapped.." Garp grimly said.

"Kidnapped? Wait..." Luffy turned to where Macro and his gang had been, but they had taken the opportunity to run away when Luffy was preoccupied.

######

Usopp's eyes widened. "She's missing?"

Nami nodded. Whilst looking for Keimi, she and Robin had run into Franky, Brook and Usopp.

"You don't think she was.." Franky began.

Robin nodded slowly. "Its possible."

After a small silence, Brook spoke. "We should get looking then. Shall we split up?"

Nami shook her head. "It's fine, Garp and Chopper are also looking. We might as well stick together now that we've all found each other."

######

Zoro scratched his head. "Damn... Haven't I been here before? That roller-coaster looks really familiar..."

After walking for a bit more, Zoro yawned. "Nah, Screw it. I'll go back to the entrance. Number one, right? Maybe the others have found Chopper and the old man and they're waiting there for me. I just hope that tool chef isn't there though..."

He looked at the number by the nearby roller-coaster. "9. If 8 is that way, then thats the way I need to go."

Zoro smirked as he passed 8, then 7, then 6. "This is so easy. Why isn't everywhere like this? Ah, there's number 5."

######

"1." Zoro smirked in triumph as he reached number 1. He sat down and yawned loudly. "At least I'm not the last back or anything. I'll just wait here for everybody else. Still, this seems kind of weird."

Zoro frowned as he sat up. He looked up to the right, where the giant Ferris wheel was. "Yeah... wasn't that more to the left before?"

He nervously looked around. "Yeah... this doesn't seem familiar at all."

Zoro began to sweat. "This isn't the right place... is it? Shit... how do I get back?"

He groaned as he got up. "This place is so confusing..."

######

"That Straw Hat kid is scary boss..."

Sanji's ear pricked up. _"Straw Hat kid? Is he talking about Luffy?"_

Macro nodded. "Don't worry, we got away from him. We should probably tell the boss though..."

_"Boss? Just who are these guys?"_ Sanji wondered as he watched them from a distance. _"I'm pretty sure they're up to no good though. Maybe I should follow them."_

"So where's the big boss taking that chick?" One of the men asked.

"Keimi? Dunno, he never told me," Macro snorted.

Sanji's eyes widened._ "Keimi? What's going on here?"_

Macro frowned. "Either way, we should get back to the boss. I don't feel safe with that Straw Hat kid being here."

Sanji narrowed his eyes. _"Yeah, these guys are definitely up to no good..."_

######

"You guys found nothing either huh?" Nami groaned. After searching for another hour or so, Usopp had suggested that they return to the entrance, hoping that everyone else would be waiting there and they would go back to the hotel and tell the police what had happened. Garp had had the same idea, and so him, Chopper and Luffy were waiting there when Nami, Robin, Usopp, Franky and Brook had go there. Unfortunately, they were still two men down...

"I'm not worried about Sanji, but Zoro... Well, he's hopeless," Nami sighed. Usopp nodded.

"And after what he said before too..."

Franky got up. "We should probably go look for him, right?"

Nami groaned, louder than before. "Just whose bright idea was it to let him go off on his own anyway?!"

######

"Damn it..." Zoro growled, frantically looking around, "Just where the hell is everybody?!"

**:O Keimi! What has Macro done? And who is this tall man who Macro calls 'boss'? I'm sure you guys know ;)**

**Anyway, I'm really please that I've got another chapter for you guys. Honestly, I have no idea how well this will go down, and this is a bit of a cliffhanger to be honest. But I really hope you enjoy it. **

**As always please please please review. They really are important to me. **


	13. Sanji and Duval

**I've got to say, I really have to thank Princess-Orlaith. She left another amazing review on the last chapter. She really keeps me super motivated for this story, so thank you so much for that. **

**Anyway, two chapters in a week? What's going on? I've had the week off, and I've spent a large chunk of this week revising for exams, but I took an afternoon off on Tuesday in which I was able to get writing again. Since then, I've been working on tweaking both this chapter and the next chapter, which isn't quite ready yet, but will be soon. But starting from this week, I'm back to Uni, and so I won't be able to write as much again, so apologies in advance for that, but there isn't anything I can do about that.**

**Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. It was actually quite funny writing this chapter as I imagined some of the things happening, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. **

Ace yawned lazily as he stepped out of the shower. He casually strolled out of the bathroom and glanced at the clock. 8:00.

"What are those guys doing?"

After sitting still for a couple more minutes, Ace sighed and got up, slipping his shoes on.

######

Usopp plopped down on a bench, pouting angrily. He really wasn't happy. "Jeez, and after we were all together too. Stupid Zoro!"

Given the size of Sabaody Park and the fact that they were mostly looking for just one person in Zoro, it made sense to split up to search. Nami had gone with Luffy, Robin with Chopper and Franky with Brook, leaving Usopp and Garp together. They had been aimlessly wandering around the park for nearly an hour now, and hadn't seen Zoro once.

Garp nodded, collapsing down on the bench next to Usopp. "Yeah, stupid Zoro. I'm tired damn it! I want to go back and have a nice relaxing bubble bath."

Usopp turned to him, smiling slightly. "Bubble bath? Really?"

Garp glared at him. "Shut up! They're relaxing!"

"Whatever... Old man."

"I swear I'll break that Pinocchio nose of yours..."

"Ah... Sorry."

######

Chopper eyed Robin nervously. Like Usopp and Garp, he and Robin had been searching for Zoro for nearly an hour now. However, since then, Robin had been almost completely to herself, saying nothing, and only offering a weak smile to him occasionally when she noticed him looking at her.

"Are you OK, Robin? You haven't said anything since we set off."

Robin smiled weakly at him and shook her head. "I'm fine. Just worried about Keimi..."

"And Zoro right?"

Robin shook her head again, giggling. "No, he'll be fine. He's probably just wandering around, lost as always. I'm certain someone will find him soon."

Chopper nodded, feeling a bit reassured. The two continued to walk, before Chopper stopped, finally deciding to say what was on his mind.

Robin looked at him. "What is it?"

"Robin... are you worried about Keimi because... its like what happened to you?"

Robin's face dropped slightly. "Yes...I did think of that..."

Chopper, realising that he'd probably upset her, hastily added, "If it is like that though, then we'll save her though, right?"

Robin nodded, smiling weakly. "Yeah, we will."

######

"ZORO! KEIMI! WHERE ARE YOUUUUUUUU!" Luffy shouted at the top of his voice, cupping his hands around his mouth.

Nami glared at him, hitting him on the back of the head. "Don't shout so loud! People are staring!"

"But how else are we going to find them?" Luffy retorted, glaring at Nami.

Nami continued to glare at him, before sighing. She looked around, taking in the huge size of the park. "I dunno. But shouting at the top of your voice can't be the best way."

Luffy pouted and turned away from her. Nami's expression softened. Perhaps she had been a bit too harsh. She took his hand and rested her head on his shoulder. "I know you're worried about Keimi, aren't you?"

"Its not just that... You remember those guys from the other day? In Hachi's restaurant?" Nami nodded. "I saw them just now."

Nami's eyes widened. "Where are they?"

Luffy shook his head. "Dunno. They got away when I wasn't looking."

"Those guys were probably behind this. Those jerks..."

"If I hadn't let them get away... Maybe we'd have found Keimi..."

Nami yanked Luffy's hand. He looked up at her, surprised to see her smiling at him. "Don't think like that. At least now we know who to look for. Besides, if it really is those guys, we know you can just kick their asses if we find them, right?"

Luffy grinned and nodded. "Yeah. Thanks Nami. I'll definitely kick their asses!"

######

"You guys... Thank God!"

Robin turned around, but barely could blink before Zoro threw his arms around her, tackling her into a tight hug. "Z-Zoro?"

"I'm so glad I found you! I love you so much!"

Robin pulled away and looked sternly at him. "And just where have you been?"

Zoro looked at the ground, blushing slightly with embarassment. "I-I don't know. I've been looking everywhere for just someone...anyone."

Chopper laughed. "You sure are stupid Zoro."

Zoro glared at him. "Shut up! The only reason I got lost in the first place is because I was looking for you and the old man. Wait, where is he anyway? And I didn't know you were here too Robin."

Robin and Chopper looked at each other. "I will take a while to fill you in..."

######

Zoro's eyes widened after hearing Chopper's and Robin's story. "What, someone kidnapped Keimi?!"

"Possibly," Robin replied, wanting to calm him down.

"Where are the others, we should go look for her!"

"We were planning on going to the police station, but we had to go back and find you before we left. Thats where everyone else is," Chopper explained.

"Oh. Sorry."

Robin smiled weakly. "Its fine, you don't have to apologise. We should find the others now. They'll be glad to know we've found you."

######

"Hey Macro?"

"Yeah?"

"I wonder why the Big Boss is helping us so much. I mean, usually he's such a jerk to you."

Macro frowned. "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Dunno, guess he's in a generous mood. Either way, best not to question it. Let's just be happy that he's being nice."

"Are you sure this is a good idea boss?"

Macro shrugged. "I don't see any harm in it. I mean, he'd probably get more angry if we just left him and didn't bother checking up on him. If he wanted us then, we'd definitely be screwed."

"But the guy hates you!"

Macro nodded, shivering slightly in fear. "Yeah... And that's why I need to make sure that he's not expecting anything else." He then looked up and saw the tall man standing by the park entrance, looking around. His glance fixed on Macro and his men. Sanji watched the scene from afar. He was surprised to see that the tall man, who he assumed was this Macro guy's boss, was wearing what looked like an iron mask.

"What are you guys doing here?" The tall man asked as Macro and his gang approached.

Macro stopped, already edging away slightly. "Um, we just wanted to see if you needed anything."

"No. Go away."

Macro nodded. He knew better than to annoy his boss. "Um... if you don't mind me asking... What did you do with Keimi?"

"My men have taken her back to our hideout. Come by tonight. We'll celebrate."

Macro nodded. "Thank you." The tall man didn't respond, so Macro and his gang walked off. When they had gone, the tall man began to walk off, not noticing the pair of eyes keenly observing him.

Sanji watched as the tall man left Sabaody Park, presumably heading back to his hideout. "So this guy has Keimi?"

######

"Idiot!" Nami snapped, hitting Zoro on the arm.

"Ow," Zoro winced. "I said I was sorry."

"I don't care!" Nami snapped again. She may have a soft spot for Luffy, but Zoro, no chance. "Thanks to you, we've wasted time which we could have spent looking for Keimi!"

Franky frowned, looking around. "Wait Nami, we're still one man down. Where's Sanji?"

"Huh?" Nami looked around too. "Did none of you see Sanji?"

Chopper looked at Robin and Zoro, before replying. "We didn't seem him."

"Nope," Usopp and Garp said simultaneously.

Zoro smirked triumphantly. "See! The love cook is worse than me!"

Nami shot a death glare at Zoro, who hid behind Robin. "S-sorry," he mumbled.

Nami sighed. "Its not like Sanji to get lost though..."

######

The tall man stopped. Were those footsteps? He had finally reached his hideout, a warehouse close to Sabaody Harbour. Everything had gone to plan, he had kidnapped this girl and one of his men had slipped away from the park without being seen and taken the girl back here.

"Who's there?" He barked, looking around nervously. He had come too far to be caught now. Sanji stepped out from around the corner of another warehouse.

"Just me," Sanji answered.

To Sanji's surprise, the tall masked man smirked. Then he started to chuckle. "Yes, this is it! I've finally got you... Sanji!"

Sanji's eyes widened. He hadn't been expecting that. "Who are you? How do you know my name?"

The man continued to chuckle. "I'm known as Iron Mask Duval here, and I'm the leader of the Flying Fish Gang. How do I know your name? Well, how could I forget the name of the man who ruined my life...?"

"What are you talking about? I've never met you before."

Duval chuckled humourlessly as he placed his hand on his mask. "Maybe this will remind you..."

He pulled the mask off to reveal a hideously deformed face. His nose was completely crooked, and his whole face looked like it had been squashed like a pancake. Sanji winced.

"I can see why you wear the mask... But I still don't know what you're talking about."

Duval glared at the ground. "So you've forgotten that day..."

######

_2 years ago_

_Sanji giggled girlishly as he floated up to Nami, presenting her with the flowers he had just picked. "Such a beautiful day for a walk in the park, right Nami?"_

_Nami wasn't too impressed, but still reluctantly took the gift. "I guess so... But Sanji, where are the others? I thought we were meeting them here?"_

_Sanji's face fell, and he sighed. "Dunno. Moss-head and Luffy are going to be late as usual. Maybe they're holding up the others too."_

_Suddenly, they heard a loud thump. Sanji looked up to see a soccer ball whirring straight at Nami, head height. Sanji instinctively stuck his leg up and deflected the ball away in the nick of time, just about saving Nami's face._

_"Nami? You OK?"_

_Nami, a little shaken, nodded. "Y-yeah. Th-than__k you Sanji."_

_"OW!"_

_Sanji and Nami looked up. In the distance, off to the direction in which Sanji had deflected the ball, there was a man lying on the ground, clutching his face, surrounded by a crowd of girls and a couple of other men._

_Sanji winced. "Oops."_

######

_"Such a beautiful day for a walk in the park," Duval smiled, admiring the view around him. All around him, girls were staring at him, practically drooling._

_"Hey Duval, all the girls are looking at you again."_

_Duval laughed, winking at one of the girls, who blushed bright red. "Haha, and why not? I am **handsome** after all!"_

_"Man, I wish I looked like you Duval. You get all the girls."_

_Duval chuckled. "I guess I was just lucky to be blessed with a face like-"_

_"Duval, look out!"_

_Duval looked up just in time to see the flying soccer ball connect with his face. In that instant, the park was silent apart from the loud crack of Duval's nose. All the girls around gasped and crowded around him, wanting their heart-throb to be all right. He looked up at them, revealing his now 'broken' face._

_The girls around winced, and one by one, they walked away, no longer interested in Duval's wellbeing. Duval watched desperately as they all left._

_"Wh-what happened?" Duval choked. One of Duval's friends coughed nervously._

_"Y-your face."_

_Duval gasped and touched him nose. He whimpered as he ran his hands along his now misshapen face._

_"Excuse me!" Sanji shouted, jogging up to Duval. "Sorry, I accidentally kicked a ball over here. Did it hit you?"_

_Duval scrambled to his feet, covering up his face as best as he could with his hands. He glared at Sanji. "N-no. Go away! Don't look at me!"_

_Nami, who had just caught up to Sanji, frowned. "Oh. Well, sorry for disturbing you. Let's go Sanji."_

_Sanji nodded, muttering 'sorry' once more, and the two walked off, Duval glaring at their backs. "Sanji... I'll never forgive you for this!"_

######

"I honestly couldn't believe my luck when I saw you with Straw Hat at the park this afternoon! And you even followed me here! What are the odds that in helping that idiot Macro, I would finally, finally get my chance to pay you back..."

Duval was now glaring violently at Sanji. "On that day you ruined my life! I was so embarrassed to be around my friends that I left town and moved here to Sabaody. But even the locals here didn't stop staring at my face like it was a train wreck. I used to be good looking, I used to be beautiful, I used to be **HANDSOME**! But you ruined everything! So I put on this mask to cover up this... this... monstrosity and turned to a life of crime."

A vein popped on Sanji's head. "You can't be serious... THAT'S WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT?!"

Duval winced and stepped back. "Well yeah! You ruined my life!"

It was Sanji's turn to glare at Duval now. "No, you ruined your own fucking life! So what if people think you're ugly, you didn't have to become a gang boss! And if it bothered you that much, why didn't you just get plastic surgery?!"

"Uh-I-I didn't think of that," Duval admitted sheepishly.

"And now you've kidnapped Keimi, ruined a day of my vacation, just to get back at me for accidentally hitting you two years ago! Do you realise how stupid this is?! You're even more of an idiot than that stupid moss-brain!"

"I-I.." Duval stuttered.

That's as far as he got before he was silenced by a kick to the face. Duval scrambled to his feet and swung at Sanji, who dodged it, before kicking Duval several times, hard in the face.

"Not again!" Duval shrieked, covering up his face with is hands, rolling around on the ground in agony.

Suddenly, the warehouse opened, and two men rushed out.

"Boss!" they yelled. They were about to attack Sanji, when someone appeared behind them. He bashed their heads together, and they both fell to the ground unconscious.

"Huh?" Sanji blinked. Ace emerged from behind the two men, both sprawled on the ground.

"So this is what happens when I stay in the hotel."

Sanji smirked. "You turned up at a good time."

######

Nami frowned, beginning to feel worried. "Damn it, he's not picking up his phone,"

Usopp crossed his arms. "So we've lost both Keimi and Sanji now. Great."

Garp yawned. "We should head back to the hotel and get Ace. Then we'll go to the police station and report that two people are missing. It's getting late now, if we can't find them in the park now, its likely that they're no longer here."

Chopper looked frightened. "I can't believe even Sanji..." Robin placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Nami nodded. "Yeah, that would be a good idea."

"Man, today has been a disaster," Franky groaned.

######

Ace looked up as everyone entered the lobby, surprised by the scene that greeted them. He was sitting with Sanji and Keimi, watching as Sanji comforted Keimi. He gave them a small wave.

"Wh-What's going on?" Nami asked.

"Keimi was kidnapped," Sanji quietly grunted, before turning back to Keimi.

Nami nodded. "Yeah, we know that. So how did she get here? And where have you been Sanji?"

Keimi smiled weakly at Nami. She had been crying. "Sanji saved me. Wh-when you guys went to go on that-that ride, M-Macro approached me..."

Luffy growled. "That jerk! I knew it was him!" Nami glared at him, shaking her head.

"Luffy!"

"S-sorry."

Keimi shook her head. "No, he's right, I shouldn't have trusted him. He apologized and I believed him. He said that Hatchin was looking for me, so I just believed him and followed him. I'm such an idiot..."

Nami hugged her comfortingly. "No, you're not. You're just an incredibly nice person. That bastard..."

Keimi smiled weakly. "Th-thank you. He then took me to this man, his boss." Sanji looked up.

"Duval."

Keimi nodded. "Y-yeah. I didn't know what was going to happen. H-He took me to this place, this dark room... I was so scared... But then I heard Sanji's voice..."

Keimi smiled at last. "He beat Duval up. Some of Duval's men then tried to attack Sanji, but then Luffy's big brother appeared. If it wasn't for them... I don't-" Her smile disappeared and tears began to well up in her eyes again.

Nami pulled Keimi into another comforting hug. Franky turned to Sanji.

"But how did you find her?"

"I overheard some guys, one of them was this Macro guy. They were talking about how they were scared of Luffy. I followed them and found out that they had taken Keimi. They led me to their boss, Duval, and I followed him to his hideout. Their boss though, that guy..."

"What?"

Sanji shook his head. "No, it's not even worth telling you his shitty back story. That guy was a complete nutcase." He then turned to Ace. "But how did you find me?"

Ace smirked. "I got a little lucky. I had just reached the theme park when I saw you sneaking around outside. So I followed you while you were following him."

Chopper frowned. "So Ace followed Sanji who followed that Duval guy. That's complicated."

"Either way, the important thing is that everyone's here now, safe and sound," Zoro grunted from the back of the group.

Sanji smirked. "Well said Moss-head."

Zoro grinned. "As much as I hate to say it... you actually did well Love cook."

"You too Moss-brain. I mean, you actually didn't get lost for once."

Everyone looked at each other. Nami smiled weakly. "Um actually-"

**Hope you guys enjoyed Sanji meeting Duval. That was definitely the part I really enjoyed writing. **

**Also, for anyone that LOVES ZoRo and HATES Zoro and Kuina (Dunno what that couple's called), you're going to LOVE the next chapter. That's all I'm giving away. Hopefully I can finish it up and put in on here some time in the next week.**

**As always, don't hesitate to leave a review and thanks for reading!**


	14. Zoro's Girl

**First of all, I'm really happy with the improved response to last chapter. Still feel like I'm missing a couple of my old regulars, but hopefully they'll be back soon. I'm happy that you guys did enjoy the whole Duval thing. He's really meant to be a bit of a joke character to be honest.**

**So this chapter is all about the love triangle. I couldn't help but notice how similar the whole Kuina-Zoro-Robin thing is to Lisanna-Natsu-Lucy in Fairy tail actually. You have the childhood love, she disappears, and then she comes back to find that she's been replaced. I wasn't aiming for that at all to be completely honest, but that's how its ended up. **

**Again, like with the prom chapter in the other story, this was so hard for me to write. I hope I don't offend anyone when I say that being a guy, I find I struggle to write romantic scenes and chapters very well, and so this may seem either a little too held back or even a little OTT. I hope it turns out well anyway. I know now that I went completely OTT in the Zoro x Kuina flashback chapter earlier, so I hope it isn't as bad this time. **

**Anyways, I really hope you like this. If after hyping the chapter up last week, it turns out to be a disappointment, that would be a real shame. Either way, enjoy!**

A couple of days had passed now since Keimi's kidnapping. When Hatchi had found out what had happened, the first thing he did was head down to the harbor find Macro's gang's hideout, and proceed to literally beat the crap out of Macro. Since then, he'd barely let Keimi out of his sight. Not that Keimi minded the extra attention though.

Nobody had heard anything about what happened to Duval though. Sanji had asked Shakky afterwards if she had heard of 'Iron Mask Duval' but she had told him that she'd never heard that name before, which surprised him, but made him think that maybe Duval wasn't as huge a deal as he made himself out to be.

######

Zoro yawned as he stepped out of his room. Sanji had left earlier to go to the beach with Nami, Franky, Usopp and Brook, leaving him alone in the hotel room to 'do whatever'. Luffy and Chopper had taken advantage of Nami's absence to finally go to the aquarium, with Ace insisting on Robin accompanying the two to ensure that they didn't end up setting the place on fire. Robin had asked Zoro if he wanted to tag along, but he really couldn't be bothered. Garp and Ace had then gone to get massages at the hotel, leaving Zoro completely on his own.

So he'd taken this opportunity to have a nap, but having now woken up and unable to get back to sleep, Zoro figured that he might as well go out and do something.

Zoro patiently waited for the elevator, not prepared for the surprise in store.

The doors slid open to reveal Kuina.

Kuina shook off her initial surprise and stared coldly at Zoro, who couldn't help but wince at her stony expression. "Uh.. I'll wait for the next one."

She shook her head, her eyes still betraying no emotions. "No... you don't have to do that. Get in."

Zoro opened his mouth to refuse again, but Kuina shot him a death glare. Refusal wasn't an option.

He slid into the elevator, making sure that he was as far away from Kuina as possible, staring at the ground to avoid any chance of eye contact.

After the most awkward elevator journey ever, they reached the ground floor, and Kuina stepped out immediately, not even glancing back at Zoro.

Zoro watched her walking away before sighing. "No... I can't let it be like this... Wait, Kuina!"

She turned around, the same cold stare on her face.

Zoro cringed again. He really wasn't used to that look from her. "Um... I'm sorry... I guess." _"Oh jeez... that sounded really half-arsed, didn't it?"_

"What for?"

"Um... You know..."

Kuina shook her head, her expression at last softening. "No, you have nothing to apologize for. I'm the one that tried to get between your relationship. I'm sorry. Robin's clearly very special to you."

Zoro smirked. "Yeah, she is."

Kuina smiled sadly. "It's just... I felt a bit hurt. Was it that easy for you to replace me?"

Zoro shook his head. "No, its not that. Its just... Robin is unlike any girl I've ever met. It's not just that she's really pretty...she's more than that. If you got to know her, you'd understand what I mean."

Kuina looked up at him. "Really? You think I should get to know her?"

"What?"

"You just said that I should get to know her."

"I did?"

"Yeah. I think you're right. I need to apologize to her too for what I've done." Kuina finally smiled weakly. "Hey, maybe we'll end up being friends!"

Zoro's face was blank, he didn't really understand what had just happened. "Uh... yeah?"

######

Luffy's eyes twinkled as he caught sight of several multicolored fish on the other side of the room. he excitedly nudged Chopper. "Ooh Chopper! Look at those ones!"

Chopper followed Luffy's pointing finger, his eyes lighting up like Luffy's when he saw the brightly colored creatures. "Hey Robin, let's go there. They look amazing!" The two ran up to the tank, pressing their noses against the glass.

Robin giggled at the two. "Coming." For Robin, the vacation had been far from perfect. First, there had been the problems with Kuina and then of course, the incident at Sabaody park with Keimi. But today was easily up there with her favorite days so far. She didn't know what it was about Luffy's and Chopper's innocence which lifted her so much, but spending the day as their 'mother' wasn't the inconvenience that Ace seemed to think it would be for her.

"Robin!"

Robin turned to see Zoro walking towards her. She smiled warmly at him. Looks like today was going to get even better.

"Hey you. I see you changed your mind then."

"Um.. kinda." Zoro nervously glanced over his shoulder. "Uh... listen, I'm really sorry about this."

Robin frowned and looked over his shoulder. She gasped quietly when she saw Kuina. "What's she doing here?" she whispered angrily.

"I ran into her in the elevator. Then one thing led to another, and... she said she wanted to get to know you."

Robin's eyes widened. "Why would she suggest that?"

Zoro scratched his head. "I don't really know. Honestly, I don't understand what really happened in the lobby. But she's back to normal now. I guess that's a good thing."

Robin opened her mouth to comeback, but just then, Kuina walked up to Zoro's side, smiling sweetly. "Hi!"

Zoro and Robin looked at each other. Neither of them had been expecting her to be so nice. "Um... Hi..." Robin cautiously replied, after a small pause. She definitely wasn't ready to trust Kuina.

There was a small awkward silence then between the three, before Luffy jogged up to them, tapping Robin on the back, "Robin, me and Chopper are going into the next room now."

Robin nodded. "OK, I'll be there, just give me a second."

Luffy flashed Robin a toothy grin, making her smile slightly before turning to Zoro and Kuina. "Hey guys! I'm happy that you guys are friends again now!"

"I'm not sure-" Zoro began, before he was cut off by Kuina.

"Yeah! I'm glad too!"

Zoro looked uncertainly at her, and then at the quietly seething Robin. Looks like his relaxing afternoon may not be quite as relaxing as he had hoped for.

######

Kuina sighed. The afternoon hadn't been as she planned at all. The group of 5 had pretty quickly split into 3 groups. At the front, Luffy and Chopper were bouncing around every room, putting the other hyper children around to shame. In contrast, at the back, Zoro and Robin were sticking together, taking their time to look around each room. The two were completely absorbed in each other, acting like she wasn't there.

Zoro smirked and whispered something in Robin's ear, causing her to giggle. Kuina glared at the two, not that they noticed. Eventually, she decided that she had to break up their little love-in before she threw up.

"Hey guys!" She cheerfully greeted for the second time, floating over to the two. Zoro looked at her blankly, whilst Robin smiled weakly.

"Oh, hi Kuina. So, what do you think of this place?"

"Oh its nice." She then looked at Zoro. "I'm a little lonely though."

Zoro and Robin looked at each other. Awkward. When they didn't reply, Kuina decided to try to prod them a little more. "I mean, we haven't really talked much." She gave a nervous laugh, before deciding to give one last prod. "I mean, I feel like a bit of a third wheel here!"

Robin narrowed her eyes. '_Well maybe you shouldn't have come then!_' was what Robin wanted to say, but she was far too nice for that. Instead, she took a deep breath, before calmly replying, "Sorry, I didn't notice."

Kuina continued to smile, oh so sweetly, at Robin, who had a completely neutral, but still icy cold, expression. Zoro gulped and looked back and forth between the two. "Um... I think I'll go see how Luffy and Chopper are doing."

"No!" Both Robin and Kuina said at the same time, but Zoro was already gone, not even wanting to glance back at the two.

Robin sighed. She was going to kill him when they got back to the hotel.

######

"So how did you two get together?"

Robin blinked. It was the first time Kuina had spoke since Zoro left the two alone. Since then, they had gone through another couple of rooms in complete silence, neither having anything to say to the other really. So, it was quite a big surprise that Kuina was starting up a conversation now, with that question especially.

Even though Kuina had genuinely resolved to get to know Robin better and accept her as Zoro's new love, she was finding it very difficult. In the immediate aftermath of that day that she had spent with Zoro at Spa Island, she had been completely angry, hell bent on breaking up Robin and Zoro. She couldn't accept that Zoro didn't love her anymore.

But then after spending a couple of days away from Zoro and thinking about what he said to her, she had realized that Zoro was really serious about Robin. Zoro had never been especially romantic, but she could tell from the way that Zoro had talked to her about Robin, that he really did love her. And that had been extremely difficult to take.

That's why when she saw Zoro that morning, she hadn't even wanted to look at him. It hurt her too much to think that he no longer loved her like she loved him. But when Zoro made an effort to make up with her, which she knew must have been difficult for him seeing as he was never really great with words or feelings in general, Kuina decided that she had to get over this and make up with Robin, not just for her sake, but for the sake of Robin and Zoro too. She didn't want to leave Zoro as his bitter ex who was madly in love with him. If they couldn't be together, she wanted them to be friends, that's for sure.

But when she had seen the two together before, she had felt undeniably jealous and she knew that she still desperately wanted Zoro. She hoped that getting to know Robin, as well as hopefully resolving the problems between the three, would also help her accept that Zoro had found a good girl to be with and she hoped that that would help her finally get over him.

"Robin?"

"Oh... Sorry." Robin mentally slapped herself for kind of spacing out and not answering the question. "Um... it was... at Trafalgar's party."

Kuina couldn't help but smirk at the mention of Law's name. "So that playboy hasn't changed. Still throwing parties every other week just so that he can flirt with girls, huh?"

Robin giggled. "You say that, but I think I was one of those girls."

"Oh?"

Robin nodded. "Trafalgar invited me to his party and in the week leading up to the party... we spent a lot of time together. This may sound weird but... I was so charmed by him that I couldn't even notice how much he liked me too."

Kuina raised an eyebrow. _"Really? That really doesn't sound like Law... So then, its not just Zoro who fell for Robin?"_ "So if you liked Law and he liked you, how did you end up with Zoro?"

Robin shook her head. "At that point, I had been at the school for about a month, maybe slightly more. It was only then that Trafalgar started to spend time with me. I met Zoro on my first day at the school, and when I saw him for the first time, I instantly fell for him."

"So, you liked both of them?"

Robin nodded. "But I think my crush on Trafalgar was more childish than my feelings for Zoro."

Kuina nodded understandingly, now starting to get really interested in the story. "And then what happened?"

"Trafalgar asked me to be his girlfriend at his house. Well, kind of-"

"Kind of?"

Robin couldn't help but giggle at the memory of Luffy's stalling tactics. "Lets just say... Zoro had some help. I was about to answer when Zoro appeared. He told me then about how he felt too. I realized then that he felt the same way about me that I felt about him. Even though they both liked me, Zoro understood me much more than Trafalgar did. And so I chose Zoro." She then smiled. "I'd be lying if I said that I've never regretted that decision. We've had fights in the past, and neither of us can say that they've been perfect in this relationship. But, after all that's happened, I can honestly say that I love Zoro." She then looked Kuina straight in the eyes. "And I know that he loves me too."

Kuina nodded slowly, thinking about what she had just heard. Robin smiled, thinking that maybe she was building bridges between herself and Kuina. Although she didn't really understand why, as Kuina was Zoro's ex, she felt that maybe she'd feel better if she gained Kuina's blessings, as pointless as that may sound.

Suddenly, Kuina smiled and turned to Robin. It was no longer that bitter, almost ironic smirk from before. Now, she was genuinely smiling at Robin. "Thank you, that was a really nice story."

Robin was a bit startled, but regained her composure and smiled back. "Thank you."

Suddenly Kuina grinned devilishly. "So... got any stories?"

"Stories?"

"About Zoro! Let's face it, the guy can be a bit of an idiot..."

Robin giggled. "Actually, there was this one time..." and Robin proceeded to tell the story of when Zoro forgot her birthday and was hunted down by the School gardening club for 'stealing' their flowers.

######

"Kuina!"

Kuina turned around to see Zoro running to catch up with her. After her talk with Robin, the two had joined up with the boys, and the five had spent the rest of the afternoon together, free of the awkwardness from before. After grabbing some ice-cream on the way back, mostly for Luffy's and Chopper's sake, they had all ended up back at the hotel.

With Luffy and Chopper around, Zoro didn't really want to bring up the whole love triangle thing. Not that he even got a chance to, with Luffy and Chopper spending the whole journey back telling Robin about how 'cool' the aquarium was.

After reaching the lobby, Kuina had said bye to everyone, before heading back to her room. Luffy then suggested that they go see Ace and Garp. Luffy, Chopper and Robin went to do that, whilst Zoro lied and said that he needed to head back to his room, when really he wanted to go talk to Kuina.

"Zoro? I thought you were going with the others to meet up with Ace and Luffy's grandfather."

Zoro skidded to a halt as he finally caught up to her, panting slightly. "Yeah... but I wanted to talk to you first. After you and Robin were done talking, you both seemed kind of different. Like, it wasn't as awkward as it was before. What did you guys talk about?"

"Why don't you ask her?"

"She'd probably lie and say 'nothing' to make me feel better."

"Oh. In that case, nothing happened."

Zoro groaned. "Kuina..."

Kuina burst into laughter at Zoro's annoyed expression, which then of course became even more annoyed. "Oh come on, you had to be expecting that!"

Zoro gritted his teeth together. He had always hated it when Kuina teased him. "So... what happened?"

Kuina smiled warmly at him. "We talked. We had a really good talk. Like you said, we got to know each other. And you were right, I do feel better now."

Zoro blinked._ "It went well?"_ "What did you talk about?"

Kuina gave him the same devilish smirk she gave Robin. "You."

Zoro looked nervous. "Me?"

"We talked about how you first got together. And all the fun you've had this last year." She then laughed. "Seriously Zoro, you forgot her birthday?"

Zoro blushed deep red. "What, she told you about that..."

"And I realized . why you love her. She is a beautiful girl, I didn't have to talk to her to see that, but she's smart and funny too. I realized that you were right, she is pretty special. I mean come on, let's face it, she even brought the 'great' Trafalgar Law to his knees! I didn't think that flirt could even spell 'love', let alone actually fall for someone. And best of all, I realized that she's 100% in love with you... and that you feel the exact same way." She then winked at Zoro. "Besides, it's totally not like you to rescue a damsel in distress from a burning building, is it?"

Zoro was lost for words. He didn't know how to respond. Kuina giggled at his expression, and turned around, opening the door to her room. "Zoro... I'm glad that you ended up with someone like her."

And with that, she closed the door, leaving Zoro alone in the corridor. After a couple of seconds, he smirked to himself. "Yeah... I'm glad too."

######

Kuina sat down on the edge of her bed, before leaning back and lying down, staring up at the ceiling. A sad smile formed on her face. "You've replaced me Zoro... I hope one day I can replace you too."

**I felt like this was needed. That's all I can really think to say to be honest. **

**Oh wait, thought of something else :)**

**As I'm writing this right now, the story's on 49 reviews, so if all goes well, we should reach number 50 after this chapter, which would be an incredible milestone to reach in my opinion. It took way longer than 14 chapters to get 50 reviews last time, that's for sure. Anyway, I'm offering a gold star to whoever leaves the 50th review, so I guess that's an extra incentive for you loyal readers ;)**

**So, as usual, thank you for reading and please leave a review. Remember, it doesn't have to be anything special or profound, although I do love those ones. One line will literally suffice as a review. Reviews keep me, as an author, motivated, and so I really hope you guys do find the time to leave a review after reading the chapter. It would mean a lot to me. They all do. **


	15. Luffy and Nami

**I'm not gonna lie guys, I've just had one of the most busy weeks of my life. I had 4 exams last week, it was genuinely hell. That's why this chapter is actually up a couple of days later than I'd originally planned.**

**Well, that and the fact that I've also written another chapter that was requested in a review. It's basically a whole chapter focused on Law, who I know pretty much everyone loves. It's not just girls, even I fanboy over him. Obviously, it's gonna be a while before I put that chapter up because it doesn't really have a place in the story at this point, but I'll just give the Law fangirls something to look forward to.**

**Basically, I've felt really motivated to write recently. Why? Last chapter, this story was on 49 reviews. As I'm typing this now, It's on 59. 10 reviews for one chapter in just over a week is absolutely incredible, probably, almost definitely, a record for me. I love the fact that so many people have started reading this story, and your support is just unreal. I knew I had to work hard to put another chapter up after that amazing response, so thank you so much.**

**Anyway, I noticed Shika's baby girl has been requesting LuNa for a while now, and after Princess Orlaith asked for it too last chapter, I knew I had to finally write something for a couple who I've arguably neglected. It's quite difficult to write LuNa actually, because Luffy isn't a romantic kind of guy, and so I'm kinda worried about how this chapter will go down. Anyway, I've rambled on for way too long, so please just sit back and enjoy the chapter!**

"Psst, Nami!"

Nami looked around, searching for the source of what sounded like Luffy's voice. Suddenly, Luffy emerged from behind the corner of the toilet buildings, waving frantically at her, before darting back behind them before anyone else noticed him. Nami couldn't help but roll her eyes. Typical Luffy.

It had been a week since they'd arrived at Sabaody and at this point, it had gotten to the stage where they had seen nearly everything the island had to offer and were actually running out of things to do.

Robin, noticing this, suggested that they go to the Palace ruins, which they had planned to visit since the first day. With Robin being Robin, she hadn't tried to force anything, but everyone would have felt guilty if they turned down Robin's one request, so everyone else, bar Sanji and Chopper who were quite eager to go, begrudgingly agreed to spend one of their last days on Sabaody trudging around the ruins.

"What do you want?" Nami whispered furiously, trying not to attract the attention of the others, who were looking for some kind of information office.

Luffy grinned and yanked Nami's arm, pulling her behind the building and out of sight. "Good, you're here! We can get going now!"

"Get going?"

Luffy eyed the entrance and roughly tugged Nami's arm. "Yeah! Let's go!"

Nami growled and struggled out of his grip. "What do you mean 'let's go'? We can't just leave without the others!"

Luffy frowned. "Well, why not? It won't be a date if everyone else is here too."

"A date?"

Luffy grinned widely, nodding happily. "Yeah, a date! Let's go!" He grabbed her arm again, but she yanked it away.

"We can't just leave like this! The other's will be worried!" She rubbed her arm, before adding. "Besides, where would we go?"

"Well, where do you wanna go?"

Nami looked up at Luffy. "Huh?"

"Where do you wanna go?"

"Where do... I want to go?"

Luffy grinned and nodded. "Yeah!"

Nami blinked, a bit taken aback. Had Luffy ever really asked her that before? Usually, he was so reluctant to be romantic and spontaneous. Back in Water 7, he hadn't really wanted to spend time with her. And at prom, he left her to have an eating contest with Bonney. He had always seemed to put his fun ahead of spending time with her.

"But... why?"

Luffy looked confused. "Why not?"

"You'd really do anything I say?"

Luffy nodded. "Yeah. Anything."

"Even shopping?"

Luffy looked reluctant, but nodded anyway. "Yeah. Anything you want."

Nami, a bit flustered, didn't know how to respond. Luffy took advantage of this, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the entrance, eager to be away from the ruins, and put his plan into action.

When Luffy looked at Zoro and Robin, and all the things they did together, he wondered why he didn't spend as much time with Nami. For example, he had seen how Zoro treated Robin at the aquarium a couple of days ago, before Kuina had interrupted them, and wondered by he wasn't so close to Nami, and the two of them were never as intimate as Zoro and Robin seemed to be all the time. In his eyes, Zoro was Robin's boyfriend and he was Nami's boyfriend, so they should both treat their girlfriends the same.

So Luffy had resolved to do something romantic for Nami. Only problem was, he knew literally nothing about romance. Nothing.

So he had decided to go to someone who did.

######

_"What do you want?" Sanji grumbled, rubbing his eyes tiredly. It was one in the morning, and after a busy day, he had decided to go to bed early and rest up for tomorrow. That was the plan, until he was awoken by the sound of the doorbell repeatedly ringing. A look through the peep-hole revealed an inanely grinning Luffy, someone who Sanji was in no mood to fool around with at this time._

_"Sanji! I need you help!" Luffy loudly whispered._

_"Why are you whispering?"_

_"Its night time, I don't want to wake people up!" Luffy whispered again, even louder this time._

_Sanji rolled his eyes. "Whatever. What do you want at this time?"_

_"I-"_

_"SHUT THE HELL UP LOVE COOK! SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP HERE!"_

_Sanji's eyebrow twitched. Zoro had woken up. "Shut the hell up Moss-head, there's someone at the door! Besides, you're making more noise than both of us together!"_

_"Whatever eyebrow boy..." Zoro mumbled, seemingly drifting back to sleep again._

_Sanji rolled his eyes. "Idiot." He turned back to Luffy. "Sorry, what was it you wanted?"_

_"Sanji, I need advice on how to be romantic for Nami!"_

_Sanji blinked, before smirking proudly. "Well, first of all, I'm flattered that you've come to me, the master of romance. See, the most important thing about girls is-"_

_Sanji was interrupted by a loud scoff from inside the room. He whipped his head around and glared at the now awake Zoro, who was standing behind him, smirking cockily._

_"What do you know about romance? You took five years more to finally get a girlfriend than I did."_

_Sanji was fuming. "What was that..."_

_Zoro smirked teasingly. "You heard me." He then turned to Luffy. "Listen, if you want romantic advice, I'm easily the best choice here. Anyway-"_

_"Luffy, ignore the stray moss over here," Sanji interrupted, shooting a glare at Zoro. "They key to romance is-"_

_Zoro's turn to cut in. "Just stop talking now, you're embarrassing yourself. Anyway, like I was saying, the-"_

_"That's it, you wanna fight MOSS-HEAD!?"_

_"Pfft, as if you scare me PERVERT CHEF!"_

_Luffy opened his mouth to interfere, but Zoro and Sanji had already lunged at each other. Luffy sighed, and left, knowing he'd be unable to break up the scuffle._

_He tiptoed out of the room, carefully closing the door behind him, still hearing the two fighting from outside the room._

_"Luffy?"_

_Luffy looked up and saw Robin a few metres away, staring at him. "Robin? What are you doing here?"_

_Robin sighed. "I heard 'Shut the hell up love cook'. Nami was going to come up instead of me, but I thought that might be too harsh on them. People will probably start complaining soon, I should probably..."_

_"Oh yeah." Luffy stepped aside, and Robin knocked confidently on the door. The door opened slightly, and Robin smiled at Luffy before stepping in. He heard some hushed whispers from Robin before a 'Whatever, sorry for waking you up' and a 'Of course Robin! I promise it won't happen again!'. Robin then stepped out, again smiling at Luffy._

_"All done."_

_Luffy nodded. "You're a lot nicer than Nami."_

_Robin giggled. "Thank you. So, what were you doing here at this time?"_

_Luffy frowned. "I wanted to ask Sanji for some advice, then he started fighting with Zoro, so I left."_

_"Advice?"_

_"Yeah, I-" Luffy paused, and then mentally slapped himself. Who was it that had helped him get ready and given him advice before his first date with Nami? Who was it that had then helped him all those months ago after Nami had gotten angry at him? Who knew more Nami than her best friend? Who knew more about girls... than a girl? "Robin, I need your help!"_

_"What's wrong?"_

_"I need to learn how to be romantic!"_

_Robin stared at Luffy, thinking he was joking. When he didn't flinch, she couldn't help but giggle at how cute it was that Luffy wanted romantic advice. "Is that so? Don't worry, you're in good hands."_

######

After explaining his problem to her, Robin had suggested that he spend a day with Nami, doing whatever she wanted. Luffy was surprised by how easy that sounded, just doing what Nami wanted, and so was happy enough with doing that.

He released Nami outside the entrance, grinning goofily at her. "So, what do you want to do?"

Nami stared at Luffy, before smiling slightly. "How about shopping?"

"Sure, let's go," Luffy said, this time without hesitation, surprising Nami. She had been expecting some kind of resistance. Luffy began walking, but stopped when he noticed Nami wasn't moving from that spot. "What?"

Nami shook her head, smiling. "Nothing. Let's go."

######

Ace scanned the area around them, looking confused. "Hey, has anyone seen Luffy?"

Sanji looked up, and after looking around like Ace, he was equally perplexed. "Or Nami?". Robin gasped, and smiled knowingly. Zoro looked at her.

"What?"

"Nothing. But we don't have to worry about those two."

"What do you mean?" Ace asked. Robin smiled.

"They're having a special day together. We should leave them alone."

Franky looked at Usopp. "Really? That doesn't sound like Luffy..."

Usopp shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he's turning over a new leaf or something..."

Zoro smirked and leaned in close to Robin's ear. "Did you have something to do with this..?" Robin giggled.

"Maybe..."

######

"If you want, I could carry that..."

Nami looked at Luffy, who was already carrying three of her large shopping bags. In her hand was the smallest one, which she had just picked up at the last shop, haggling down a price of 50 beri to just 30. "Um... it's fine. You're already carrying a lot."

Luffy shook his head furiously. "I'm fine! Come on..." He gave her his best pleading look, something which Nami couldn't resist. She smiled thankfully.

"Here."

Luffy's eyes lit up as he took the bag. Nami was smiling, that meant he was doing well!

Nami had to admit, she was impressed. Luffy had never been romantic, she knew that when she had first confessed her love for him. And apart from brief moments, like at Water 7, or than one time after English class, they had never really had many romantic moments together. But today was incredible. All day so far, Luffy had treated her like a princess, following what she wanted without protest.

After leaving the palace, as promised, Luffy had accompanied her on a shopping spree. When Nami went shopping with Robin, she took her time, because, whilst Robin didn't seem to completely enjoy shopping, she was patient and didn't complain. However in the past when she'd gone shopping with Luffy, he had spent most of the time whining, causing her to hurry and not have a good trip at all.

But this time was completely different. Luffy had just gone along with her, not complained once, and now was even offering to carry her bags. The whole day had been like this. Even when they had had lunch, Luffy had waited patiently until she was finished eating before getting up, unlike usually when he always rushed her.

Nami could remember several occasions, when watching either Zoro or Sanji with Robin or Hancock, where she'd wondered, sometimes inwardly or sometimes out loud, why Luffy wasn't romantic, and had wished that he would be more. It seemed like all her prayers were finally being answered.

Basically, for the first time ever, Nami had the perfect boyfriend. And whilst this was great for her, it also seemed to unnerve her slightly. All the things she did that annoyed Luffy had no effect on him. She wondered whether she could have slapped Luffy and he still wouldn't have said anything.

"Well, I think I'm done shopping now."

"Are you sure?" Nami rolled her eyes at that. As if Luffy wasn't secretly jumping for joy now.

"Yeah. So now that we're done here... Is there anything you want to do?"

Luffy shook his head. "Nope. So what else do you want to do?"

"Really? Nothing?"

"Nope."

Nami sighed. If Luffy wasn't going to tell her what he wanted to do, maybe she could think of something that he'd enjoy. "How about going to the harbour?"

Luffy grinned. "Sure, if that's what you want!"

######

Nami sighed as she looked away from Luffy, who was staring at her. One thing's for sure, he really wasn't being himself.

She had hoped a trip to the harbour, full of plenty of food and distractions, two things which never failed to attract Luffy's attention, would make Luffy act like normal again. She had defintely enjoyed gentleman Luffy, but he just didn't feel right like that and she now wanted to have goofy idiot Luffy back.

Unfortunately, it still didn't work. The final nail in the coffin had been when Nami had offered to buy Luffy ice-cream and he refused. When did Luffy ever say no to ice-cream? Actually, when did Luffy ever say no to food in general?

So after that, the two had spent the last hour or so of the afternoon, strolling side by side, in silence, down the harbour along the boardwalk right by the sea-front. Nami didn't fully understand why, but she felt really frustrated.

Luffy on the other hand, was really happy with himself. So far, he hadn't slipped up at all. He hadn't eaten loads, like he knew Nami hated. When they were shopping, he didn't complain once, which he knew Nami hated and even now, Nami wasn't angry at all. He hadn't done anything wrong, and in his mind, the day had been a complete success.

"Woah, look out!"

Luffy looked behind him for the source of the shout. A cyclist had lost control of his bike and was heading straight for Nami, who seemed lost in her own mind, and wasn't paying attention. "Nami!" Luffy exclaimed, grabbing Nami and pushing her out of the way, just in the nick of time. Close one...

However, Nami, taken by surprise, lost balance, and fell sideways into the water. She struggled to grab onto the side of the boardwalk. "Luffy!"

Luffy quickly recovered from the initial shock, and helped her up. Once up, she shivered with the cold and glared at him. All around, people were staring at her, and couple of small children nearby were giggling, silenced by a death glare by Luffy. "Oy you! Shut up!"

Nami's jaw dropped, appalled. "Luffy! They're just children!"

"But... they..."

"What the hell is wrong with you today?"

"Nami... I..."

"This day has been a disaster. Let's just head back to the hotel and meet the others."

Luffy stared hopelessly at her. "But-"

Nami glared at him. "No. Not another word."

######

Chopper looked up, smiling brightly when he saw Luffy and Nami walk in. "Hey Guys! How was your day?"

After getting back from the palace ruins, Robin had suggested that they wait in the lobby for Luffy and Nami to come back. It had been a long wait in truth, but Robin figured it would be worth it when she saw the happy couple.

And boy was she wrong. Nami glared at Chopper, who scurried behind Robin, who instinctively laid a protective hand on his shoulder. "Horrible," she snapped, heading straight for the elevator. It was then that everyone noticed that Nami was dripping wet. Sanji sighed, and turned to Luffy.

"What did you do?"

Luffy shook his head, and trudged towards the elevator, not saying a word, a deep frown ingrained on his face. Zoro glared at Sanji. "Look what you did!"

Sanji blinked, surprised. "I-I've never seen him like that..."

Robin shook her head. "No, you have. Don't you remember the first time those two went out together?"

Sanji sighed. "Oh... yeah. Well, I guess I'd better go talk to Luffy."

Robin nodded. "I'll go get Nami."

######

Just as Sanji was about to ring Luffy's doorbell, the door opened by itself, and Luffy emerged. He smiled weakly at Sanji, before stepping past him. Sanji bit his lip, before turning around, to call after Luffy.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"Just for a walk," Luffy dully replied, not turning around.

"Are you sure you'll be OK on your own?"

Luffy didn't answer and kept on walking, so Sanji jogged to catch up with him. "Listen, I'm sorry about what I said before."

Luffy shook his head. "Don't be. You were right, I scewed up. Like always."

"What happened?"

"I... I accidentally pushed Nami into the water."

Sanji winced. "I See. But she's that pissed off just because of that?"

"Not... just that. I kind of shouted at some kids who were laughing at her too. But I thought she wanted me too..."

"Oh. Are you sure you don't want to talk to her?"

Luffy shook his head. "She'd just get more mad at me... I should leave her alone..."

######

"Nami... Sanji told me what happened today..." Robin nervously began, not wanting Nami to flip out at her, not that she ever had before. Nami had her back to her, and was looking out of the window, watching Luffy who had just walked outside.

"How does he know?"

Robin gulped slightly. "He talked to Luffy. He's really upset, you know..."

"Oh?"

Robin sighed. Looked like she'd have to be blunt. "Nami, do you not think you should apologize to him? He was only trying to protect you. Also, he's very sensitive when it comes to you, you should know that."

Nami whipped her head around to look at Robin. "I know."

"And also-...sorry?"

"I know. I shouldn't have got so angry. I guess I lost it because... I was just so frustrated."

"Frustrated?"

Nami nodded. "Yeah. The whole day, Luffy was acting... weird. He was acting really nice... but it wasn't him."

Robin looked confused. "I thought you wanted him to be more romantic?"

Nami smiled weakly. "Oh? So this whole day was your idea?" Robin nodded guiltily. "You're right, I always did say I wanted him to be more romantic... but if that means trading the brainless Luffy that I know and love in for some robot super boyfriend, then I'd rather just keep my idiot."

Robin smiled. "That's a wonderful thing to say. Although you should probably be saying it to him though."

"huh?"

"He can't have gotten too far."

"But... where do I look?"

Robin winked at Nami. "Don't you know? You know him better than anyone, you are his girlfriend after all."

Nami smiled and nodded. "Yeah."

######

"Luffy!"

Luffy turned his head, and winced at the sight of Nami entering the restaurant. How did she know he'd be at Hachi's restaurant?

"Nami? How did you find me?"

Nami smiled. "Lucky guess." Luffy loved Takoyaki.

Luffy nodded weakly and turned back to his food. Eating definitely comforted him when he felt upset.

Nami sat down next to him. He didn't look at her. "I-I'm sorry."

"Luffy-"

"No. I'm a failure of a boyfriend. I tried to be like Zoro and Sanji, but I failed. Robin even told me what to do, but I still screwed up. I don't know why you stay with me Nami..."

"Luffy-"

"I'm an idiot, and I'm clumsy, and I don't know anything about romance. You should just leave me, I'm no good for-"

"Luffy!" Nami firmly said, tilting his head towards her, "I really don't care about that!"

"huh?"

"I don't care if you're loud, or rude, or greedy or clumsy or whatever! Because that's who you are, and that's the person I'm in love with. You don't have to change for my sake! Just being you makes me more happy than anything else! You make me more happy than anyone else!"

"R-Really?"

Nami nodded, leaning in, and capturing Luffy's lips.

"Honestly, you're so stupid sometimes... But that's what I love about you." she mumbled, smiling softly, as they pulled away.

Luffy's frown morphed into that toothy grin which Nami loved so much.

######

Robin smiled to herself, watching Nami and Luffy from her room window. They were just outside the hotel now, holding hands. Looks like they had made up. Robin couldn't help but remember all those months ago when she had helped both Luffy and Nami get ready for their first date with each other. And just like back then, when she had watched the two set off, she couldn't help but wonder,

_"What would those two do without me?"_

**So, what do you think? It's just a random idea that came to mind when people asked about LuNa, and I hope it came out well. **

**As always, please review. If you guys had seen my face when I woke up a couple of Fridays ago to 7 new reviews, you'd realize just how much reviews do mean to me. **

**As always, thanks for reading. **


	16. Teamwork

**Before we begin this chapter, I have a rather sad announcement to make. This is potentially the last chapter for anywhere up to two months. Basically, my exams are getting crazy at the moment, and I really can't afford to spend time writing this when I could be revising. It was actually quite a strain to write this, but I did feel like I had to make one last chapter in which I could tell you this.**

**So, I'm sorry if that does upset you, but honestly, I really don't think it should. I'm far from the best author, and I'm sure that you can find some other story, or perhaps stories, to replace this one for the time being. I will miss writing this, but I really should focus on my exams for the time being, and I will continue updating as soon as they are finished. Don't worry though guys, I have plenty of ideas for what to do after my exams though. Not just for this story too, I'm actually thinking of expanding into non-high school One Piece fanfics (:O) . A little out of my comfort zone, but I feel like I can't just keep riding the whole High School thing forever. **

**To be honest, I'm lucky that this is pretty much the first time in the last year or so since I began writing One Piece High School that real life has actually got in the way of my fanfiction. So, I hope you guys really enjoy this almost send off chapter.**

"So, that's the one, huh?"

"Yep, that's Nico Robin."

"I definitely see the resemblances..."

"Yeah."

"So how do we proceed... Mr 5?"

Mr 5 ran his hands through his hair, his eyes never leaving Robin. "Same as usual I guess... Miss Valentine."

######

"-And that's when I found Zoro. He was completely lost, as per usual. Looking back, it's kinda ironic that I found him by the monkeys, of all animals."

Kuina then burst out laughing at her own story. Robin, somewhat more controlled, giggled quietly. Although you probably wouldn't expect it, she hadn't been worried at all when Kuina met her at breakfast that morning and suggested that the two went out and did something together. Although it was her last full day on Sabaody, none of the others had suggested anything to do, and it seemed as if everyone was planning to just laze around either at the hotel or on the beach. So Robin, not really fancying either of those choices, saw nothing wrong with accompanying Kuina on a small stroll/ shopping trip, through Sabaody's main town.

And overall, she had really enjoyed the day so far. Although it wasn't even noon yet, the two had wandered through most of the shops so far, with Robin largely content with listening to Kuina's stories about Zoro. She couldn't help but inwardly note that hanging out with Kuina was very similar to hanging out with Nami. All Robin had to do was listen, and Robin was a very good listener.

And honestly, Robin was glad that the two were hanging out like this. Even though she and Kuina had made up at the aquarium, she didn't think the two would ever be good friends or even close. But now that Kuina had gotten rid of her jealousy, her friendly nature was starting to come through, and Robin was optimistic that the two could be good friends.

Kuina tapped Robin's arm, shaking her out of her thoughts. "Oh! Did I tell you about the time I dragged Zoro to that amusement park? Damn, what was its name... Ah, doesn't matter!"

Robin shook her head, more than happy to hear another embarrassing story about Zoro.

######

"Zoro, can we go now?"

Zoro lifted the weights, panting heavily, his bare muscles, in plain view, pulsing. He strained to glance over at Chopper, who had been watching him on the bench-press since he'd started.

After breakfast, since Robin had left, Zoro had decided to head to the hotel gym, since he hadn't actually worked out since arriving at Sabaody. The others had decided to go to the beach, but worried about Zoro going out to join them later. So Nami had asked Chopper to stay behind with him, and make sure that he didn't get lost on the way to the beach. Chopper had readily agreed since he'd never seen Zoro work out, and admired the manly aspect of it. His enthusiasm had quickly evaporated though, and he had quickly became bored of watching Zoro sweat.

"No one's keeping you here. You wanna go, then go."

"No, I have to stay with you. Nami told me too."

"So? Why'd you listen to her?"

"She'll get mad if I don't."

Zoro set the weights on the stand with a loud gasp, sitting up. "You don't have to listen to her. I sure as hell don't."

Chopper rolled his eyes, handing Zoro a towel. "Yeah you do. Don't lie."

Zoro half-heartedly rubbed his bare chest and back with the towel before glaring at him. "No, I don't. I'm not her bitch, like Love Cook or you..."

Chopper again rolled his eyes, easily able to picture a dozen times in his head when Zoro had been ordered around by Nami. "Yeah, yeah, whatever... So can we go now?"

Zoro smirked triumphantly, thinking he had won the argument. "Yeah sure. Might as well."

######

"Hey, what's going on over there?"

Chopper looked up. He and Zoro were at the beach now, but the sight of the ocean was obstructed by a huge crowd of people. At the edge of the crowd, they could see Luffy and the others. "Hey guys!"

Luffy turned around and waved at them. "Zoro! Chopper! You guys made it!"

"What's going on?" Zoro asked.

"It's a beach volleyball tournament," Nami replied. There was something about her which seemed different. Her eyes were gleaming. That could only mean...

Chopper sighed. "Nami... how much money do the prize winners get?"

"Eh? How did you know there was prize money? Well, anyway, the prize is 1000 Beri! Can you believe it, that much!" She then grabbed Luffy's arm, excitedly shaking him, "Oh, we've got to win!"

Luffy laughed. "Yeah, sure, anything for you!"

Zoro yawned, turning around. "Oh. Good luck, I guess."

Chopper frowned. "You don't want to compete?"

Zoro shook his head. "Nah, can't be bothered. I think I'll go take a nap."

"Huh typical. What was that saying? Oh yeah, you snooze, you lose!"

Zoro whipped his head around and glared at the cockily smirking Sanji. "What was that dartboard? I'm not competing because I can't be bothered, not because I can't win..."

"Pfft, whatever... stray moss."

Zoro's face was red with anger. Nothing pissed him off more than Sanji acting cocky."That's it! I'm competing, and I'm gonna kick your ass you perverted, curly eyebrowed, love cook!"

"Uh guys..." Usopp said, stepping between the two. "Um... I hate to break it to you, but, you guys can't just play against each other. It's a pair tournament, you need partners. Plus, they have to be girls."

Chopper frowned. "But Robin and Kuina aren't here. So there aren't any girls for you to pair up with. What a shame..."

Zoro and Sanji continued to glare at each other before they both smirked. Zoro looked at Chopper whilst Sanji looked at Usopp, their eyes both gleaming. Chopper and Usopp gulped and nervously looked at each other.

######

"Hello, and welcome all to Sabaody's Summer Beach Volleyball tournament 2013! I'm Franky, and I'll be your SUUUUUPER HOST!"

Nami gasped. "Franky?"

"They liked his enthusiasm." Nami and Luffy looked around to see Shakky and Ace standing behind them. Luffy grinned at Ace.

"So you're a pair huh?"

Ace nodded. "What can I say, I couldn't resist a chance to kick my little brother's ass."

Franky then started speaking again. "In the first match of Round 1, the pairs competing will be the pairs of..." Franky paused, building up anticipation, "Luffy and Nami versus..."

"Hatchi and Keimi!"

Luffy and Nami looked at each other. "Hatchi!?" The two emerged from the crowd, smiling nervously at Luffy and Nami.

"Hey guys! Wow, I didn't expect to come against you guys in the first round. Honestly, we were hoping to avoid you two..." Keimi admitted.

Nami smiled. "Don't worry, this isn't serious, right?"

Luffy frowned. "But Nami, what about the prize-"

Nami elbowed him hard in the chest, Luffy crying out in pain. "Not serious."

Keimi and Hatchi nervously glanced at each other. They knew Nami was lying. When money was involved, she was always serious.

The four took their place. "Before the match will begin, the rules," Franky announced, "To save time and make the match SUUUPER intense, each game will only be one set. First to 21 points wins!"

Brook then handed a ball to Luffy to begin. Luffy sent the serve whirring over the net at speed. Hatchi barely deflected it, before Keimi weakly sent the ball over the net. Nami's eyes lit up. She dinked the ball up for Luffy, who hammered it down onto the other side of the court, scoring the first point before the crowd around could even blink. It was clear then to all that this wasn't going to be an even match.

Ace smirked. "They make a good team."

Shakky nodded. "They'll be tough to beat."

######

In the end, the match ended 21-5 to Luffy and Nami, a very comfortable victory indeed.

"Congratulations to the SUUUUPER pair of Luffy and Nami for winning their first match! They now advance to the final four!" Franky cheered, the whole crowd applauding and cheering along, Nami and Luffy clearly instant fans favorites. Nami smiled, and pecked Luffy on the cheek.

"Nice job, you..."

Luffy laughed, putting his arm around Nami's waist. "You too. We're partners, right?"

Nami nodded. "Yeah."

"After that SUUUPER first match, the second match will be between Foxy and Porche..."

A fat man with a pointy nose and a hairstyle resembling fox ears came out onto the court with a tall, thin girl with long blueish hair. Luffy stared at the two. They seemed familiar.

"Hey!" Luffy yelled, waving at the two. "You seem familiar, Split head!"

The fat man looked devastated. He fell to his knees, tears welling up in his eyes. "Split... head...?"

The girl gasped, and put her arm around the man. "Boss! Don't listen to that rude boy!" She then glared at Luffy. Luffy winced, but Nami gasped.

"That girl! She was at Law's party at the beginning of the year. She was with Chopper, wasn't she?"

"They will be up against the pair of... Ace and Shakky!"

Ace bumped fists with Luffy as he made his way onto the court, Shakky close behind. "Wish me luck."

"Like you'll need it," Nami winked.

######

He didn't need it, Ace and Shakky easily seeing off the clearly unfit Foxy and the rather weak Porche, winning 21-0.

"Another SUUUPER victory by a SUUUUUPER PAIR!" Franky shouted, the crowd cheering along. They seemed to really love Franky. "Our third first round match will be between the pair of... Laki and Wyper..."

Ace nudged Luffy. "She's that girl from the rainforest, don't you remember. She said her boss was called Wyper."

Luffy nodded. "Oh yeah, the one with the snake."

"against the SUUUPER pair of Zoro and..." Franky paused. "Uh... Chopperina?"

"What?!" Luffy, Nami and Ace simultaneously shouted, looking over to the court. Sure enough, Zoro had just made his way out there, with a short 'girl'. 'She' was wearing a one piece, had average length brown hair, and had tiny, orange shaped bulges coming out of her chest. There was no doubt about it, it was Chopper wearing a wig with Oranges stuffed in his chest area. Credit to Zoro though, the crowd didn't seem to suspect a thing.

"Zoro!" Chopper frantically whispered. "These oranges are loose, they might fall out if I move!"

"Well then don't move! I told you, I don't need you to do anything, I'll do this on my own!"

"You can't beat two people on your own!"

"Watch me!"

######

So Chopper watched. And boy, was he proved wrong. Zoro single-handedly beat the pair of Laki and Wyper 21-12, with Chopperina not moving an inch. When the two left the court, the crowd cheered Zoro but wholeheartedly booed 'Chopperina' for not pulling her weight and watching as Zoro did the work.

Franky winced at the booing. "Tough crowd," he muttered to himself. "Anyway, our final match of the first round will be with the pair of... Garp and Hina!"

"Gramps!" Luffy and Ace choked, staring in disbelief as Garp strolled out onto the court, a tall, curvy, attractive middle-aged woman with pink hair just behind him, clutching his hand, blushing slightly.

"How did he... that woman... she's..." Ace stuttered.

Shakky giggled. "Guess your grandfather is smoother than you thought."

"Go on Grandpa!" Luffy cheered, pumping his fist in the air.

"And they will be against the SUUUPER pair of Sanji and... oh jeez... Usoppera."

Sanji ran onto the court, waving at the cheering crowd. However the cheers quickly died down when his partner nervously stumbled onto the court. Usopp's disguise was... far from perfect. His usual hair was tied up in a messy ponytail, whilst some lipstick was smeared against most of his lower face, ironically missing a lot of his lips. Like Chopper, he was wearing a one piece, with two massive coconuts stuffed in his chest, which looked almost embarrassingly out of proportion with the rest of his body. Around him, the crowd was filled with murmurs.

"Is that really a girl?"

"She's so ugly..."

"Maybe she got hit by a car or something?"

Usopp silenced them with a glare. He clearly wasn't happy being there.

Sanji edged closer to him. "Don't do anything. Just stand there, look pretty and leave the playing up to me. Moss-head won on his own, so I'm gonna do the same."

Usopp glared at him. "I hate you. I hope you rot in hell."

Sanji dismissed him with a wave as he took his starting position. "Yeah, yeah. Just remember the game plan... Usoppera."

######

Sanji had much more difficulty seeing off the more capable opponents of Garp and Hina on his own than Zoro had, but he did emerge the victor, winning 21-15. Like with Chopperina, Usoppera was booed off for doing nothing all game long, whilst Sanji was cheered like a hero.

Franky sighed as the two stepped off. He had contemplated several times whether to expose Zoro and Sanji, but had decided against it, figuring that the two of them would never forgive him if he got them kicked out of the tournament. Plus, the crowd really seemed to like those two since they had both single-handedly won their matches.

"What a SUUUPER victory there by Sanji and Usoppera. It's now time for the first semi final between the pair of Luffy and Nami and the pair of Ace and Shakky!"

The crowd cheered as the four took their positions. Luffy stared straight ahead at Ace, focused on the task at hand. He wanted nothing more than to beat his older brother, nothing less would do.

Nami grinned at his concentrated expression. The only danger of pairing up with Luffy was that he wouldn't be focused and would lose matches because he wasn't taking them seriously. But now that Luffy was especially motivated, she knew that he'd give it his best.

Brook tossed the ball to Ace to begin. He sent the serve whirling straight at Luffy, who sent it back with even more force. Ace left the ball for Shakky, who thumped the ball to Nami's side. She struggled to deflect it back, and Ace, latching onto the poor clearance, smacked the ball down into the ground. Ace and Shakky 1, Luffy and Nami 0.

Nami winced. That was her fault. She looked over at Luffy who had the ball in his hand. He punched the ball with force onto the opposite side of the court. It was good, but not good enough, and Ace returned the ball. Nami set the ball up for Luffy, who smacked the ball across the court. However Ace sent the ball straight back, with even more force. Nami's eyes lit up, if Luffy set it up for her, she could get the point. But Luffy smacked it back across the court, ignoring her. Ace's reply was emphatic, burying the ball deep in their half, neither Luffy or Nami able to get to it. Ace and Shakky 2, Luffy and Nami 0.

Luffy groaned. There was no doubt about it. Anything he could do, Ace could do better.

Nami placed her hand on Luffy's shoulder. "Luffy... stop. You're trying to beat Ace on your own."

"What?"

"It's true. You're trying to do everything, and its not working. Don't you remember what you said before? We're partners." Nami winked at Luffy. He grinned.

"Yeah... sorry. Let's work together."

Ace returned Nami's serve straight to Luffy, but Luffy, instead of sending it straight back as he had before, set it for Nami, who hit it on Shakky's side. This caught both Ace and Shakky by surprise, and the ball hit the ground. Ace and Shakky 2, Luffy and Nami 1.

"Things just got interesting," an on-watching Zoro muttered to his pouting partner, Chopperina.

######

Luffy hammered the ball down low, Ace not able to get to it. The game had been a stark contrast to both team's relatively straightforward first round matches, with Luffy's point there tying the score at 20-20, meaning that two points were now required to win it.

Ace grinned at Luffy across the court. "Jeez... you're not giving up, are you?"

Luffy shook his head. "No way." Ace smirked.

"Good." Ace sent the serve whirring at Luffy, who deflected it to Shakky. She set it for Ace, who hammered it, seemingly destined for the sand. But Luffy dug it out, chipping it up to Ace, who was taken completely by surprise. He shakily returned the ball, perfect for Luffy to spike the ball home. Ace and Shakky 20, Luffy and Nami 21.

Ace panted heavily as he picked up the ball. He handed it to Shakky, who aimed for Nami, rather than Luffy. Nami returned the ball, which Ace met and powerfully thumped towards Luffy. Luffy, seeing Nami out of the corner of his eye, set the ball for her, and she spiked it powerfully, Shakky and Ace reaching desperately for it, but neither making it. Ace and Shakky 20, Luffy and Nami 22.

Franky blew his whistle. "That's it! The winners are Luffy and Nami, who will now advance to our SUUUPER FINAL!"

Nami gasped and threw her arms around a sweating, panting Luffy. Luffy grinned widely and wrapped his arms around her.

Nami dug her face into his shoulder. "We did it."

"Hey!" Ace called from the other side of the court. "Nice one, you finally beat me little bro!"

Luffy shook his head. "No...** I** didn't beat you. **We** beat you."

Ace grinned. "Yeah."

Franky cleared his throat, coughing a couple of times. All this shouting was wearing out even his voice. "Now, its time for our second SUUUUPER Semi final! Can the pairs of Zoro and Chopperina, and Sanji and Usoppera make their way to the court?"

Zoro and Sanji were first to make it to the court, both glaring at each other, not paying attention to their embarrassed partners, who were both being booed as they made their way onto the court. Usopp looked at Chopper.

"You know what, screw them. I don't need this. You with me buddy?"

Chopper nodded angrily. "Yeah!"

This snapped both Zoro and Sanji back to reality. "Wait, you guys can't quit now!"

Both Usopp and Chopper glared at them. "No, we're not going to sit here being booed just so you two can settle some stupid rivalry!"

Chopper then ripped off his wig, and pulled out the oranges stuffed in his chest area, whilst Usopp did the same with the coconuts. The crowd gave a collective gasp, before staring expectantly at Franky. He wasn't nearly as shocked as they were.

"Well... I guess you're both disqualified. As for your partners..."

"You can't get rid of Zoro and Sanji!" a man in the crowd shouted.

"Yeah!" Another woman shouted in support. "They're so cool! Plus, it's not like their partners even did anything in the first round!"

Franky groaned and looked at Brook. "But what can I do?"

Brook smiled cunningly. "Well... I may have an idea..."

"Oh?"

Zoro and Sanji nervously watched as Brook whispered something in Franky's ear. They especially didn't like the smirk forming on Franky's face.

Franky cleared his throat again, attracting everyone's attention. "After conferring with my assistant, I have come up with a way to allow both Zoro and Sanji to continue to participate. Although, I don't know how much they'll like it. In fact, I'm almost sure they won't like it. For this plan is so-"

"Just spit it out!" Zoro and Sanji simultaneously yelled. Franky smirked devilishly.

"You two will have to pair up to play the final match against Luffy and Nami."

Both Zoro's and Sanji's jaws dropped. They glared at each other. "No fucking way! I'm not teaming up with this loser!" Zoro growled.

"Took the words right out of my mouth Moss-head!"

"As if. You wish you could team up with someone as good as me, Love cook!"

"Please, I'd rather team up with someone like Usopp!"

Usopp, who had joined Nami and Luffy on the sidelines, glared at him. "I'm standing right here!"

Franky shook his head. "Sorry, that's the only way. If not, you two are disqualified and Luffy and Nami automatically win."

"Fine," Zoro grunted. "Do that. I just wanted to put Eyebrow in his place, I don't give a shit about winning this thing." Sanji nodded.

"If I can't beat Moss-head, what's the point?"

But whilst they were satisfied with this, the crowd most definitely weren't.

"What?! You guys can't just quit!"

"You can't be serious? No semi-final, and now no final too!?"

"Please don't!"

Zoro and Sanji hopelessly looked around, taken aback by the crowd's reaction. They sure as hell didn't want to pair up, but the angry crowd weren't really giving them an option.

Luffy grinned, making his way onto the court. Nami frowned. "Luffy?"

"Let's go!"

"But they haven't agreed to play yet."

Luffy shook his head. "They will. Come on, let's go!"

"OK fine!" both Zoro and Sanji shouted at the same time, refusing to look at each other. "We'll team up, just calm down..."

Luffy giggled and held out his hand to Nami. "See. Told ya!"

Nami, surprised, slowly nodded. "Yeah... you did..."

Chopper nudged Usopp. "Hey, do you think those two can really work as a team?"

Usopp shook his head. "Pfft, no way. Luffy and Nami have already won this."

######

The ball flew high in the air, midway between Zoro and Sanji. Both lunged for it at the same time, sending it up in the air again, before lunging for it again. Franky blew his whistle. Luffy and Nami 12, Zoro and Sanji 0.

"What?!" both Zoro and Sanji shouted.

"You're only allowed three touches," Franky coolly replied.

"I only touched it twice," Zoro retorted.

"Yes... and so did Sanji. two plus two equals four."

Sanji glared at Zoro. "Stop getting in my way!"

"Your way!? You're the one who should have left that for me!"

"Why!? You'd just screw it up!"

"Like hell I would!"

Usopp turned to Chopper. "What did I say? They keep losing points like this. They really can't work together."

Chopper sighed. "Hey!" he shouted, attracting the attention of Zoro and Sanji. "Zoro, don't you remember what you told me today!?"

"What?"

"You said that I shouldn't let Nami walk all over me. But that's what you're doing now! Look at you guys, while you're busy arguing, She's dominating both of you two."

Nami glared at him. "Hey Chopper! What do you mean 'walk all over you'!? I don't do that!"

Chopper gulped, but continued in his attempt to motivate Zoro. "This was her plan all along! She knew you wouldn't be able to work with Sanji, she planned all this!"

Nami, appalled, lunged at Chopper, with Luffy struggling to hold her back. "**Chopper, you rat!** None of that is true at all! Just wait 'til I get my hands on you! I'll beat you!"

Zoro, however, was completely fooled by Chopper's lie. "How evil. I should have known. What a cold, manipulating woman." He looked at the scoreboard and winced. He turned to Sanji. "Hey... we're losing pretty badly."

Sanji sighed. "Yeah."

"This isn't working. I don't like it, but... If we're gonna win... we're gonna have to work together."

"Tch, with you?"

Zoro grimaced and nodded. "I hate the idea as much as you do, but... Its the only way."

Sanji grinned weakly. "Yeah, you're probably right. Its embarrassing to lose like this. Fine, we'll team up just this one time. But never again." He held his hand out to Zoro.

Zoro smirked and took it. He then picked up the ball and thumped it hard at Nami, who set it for Luffy to power back. Zoro was about to lunge for it, before he noticed Sanji moving behind him. He left the ball, and Sanji knocked it up, perfect for him to spike down low, out of the reach of both Nami and Luffy. Luffy and Nami 12, Zoro and Sanji 1.

######

In the end, despite their late rally, Zoro and Sanji hadn't been able to catch Nami and Luffy, who won 21-16. Luckily for Chopper, Nami was too distracted with the 1000 beri prize money to remember what he said about her, and so he was able to escape alive.

As soon as the tournament was over, the crowd dispersed, leaving just Luffy and the others behind, minus Garp, who was taking Hina for dinner. Although Nami repeatedly reminded both Ace and Sanji that they already had girlfriends, both were green with envy.

As for Zoro and Sanji, you'd think working together so successfully would perhaps strengthen their relationship and make the two less hostile towards each other. But this was Zoro and Sanji.

As soon as the match was over, a throwaway remark by someone in the crowd had resulted in Zoro and Sanji having a huge argument, which then resulted in the two agreeing to play a 1-on-1 beach volleyball match, which seemed to never end, getting to 45-45, before they were interrupted.

"Guys!"

Nami blinked at the sight of Kuina running towards them, looking panicked. "Huh? Kuina? What's wrong?"

She fell to her knees in front of them, panting heavily. "I'm so so so sorry. I-I couldn't-"

Zoro grasped both her shoulders. "What happened?"

"It's Robin. She's missing!"

**Well. I feel kind of bad that I'm leaving you on that note. Please don't hate me...**

**But yeah, as usual, hope you enjoyed the chapter, and can we keep the recent levels of reviews up? 16 reviews for 2 chapters is absolutely insane, I'd really like to keep that up if possible. **


End file.
